Part I
Part I
We open this story as if it’s the greatest ever told,
With maybe the greatest heroes we’ve ever known,
The Door first held open by George Washington,
So we the people run things from the top to the bottom.
It’s how a man of modest means,
Came to live with Kings and Queens,
What power Washington had, and gave back,
Binding us, still today, to our shared contract.
But even the purest contract, by the best men,
Is only as strong as the weakest who inherit.
The great powers that were thought he’d be a king,
Like for thousands of years, all had ever been.
But it’s they who would fall,
When left open for all,
The Door would call,
So their people would crawl,
As once we crawled,
At the start of it all,
Now our flag stands tall,
Guarding that Door,
Where a Right for one,
Is a Right for all.
In our first year of freedom, Washington said,
While looking for some descent-hearted men:
If you break your back for this country,
Then that’s good enough for me.
We’ll etch the contract into this wood,
We’ll fashion a Door and then we’ll walk through.
It’s not just the words carved onto the Door,
But the spirit woven through each consecrated board.
It’s a long cold winter of freedom,
With hard-won victories defeating suspicion.
It’s a promise, soon to be realized,
When all this pain will feel like no sacrifice.
It’s a compromise with no fixed conclusion,
Other than a more perfect union.
For one more year, we will hold the door,
And when it stands, then one year more.
When Thomas Jefferson heard men complain,
About why must there be so much change,
He heard what they meant to say:
“At the end of the day, make them obey.”
It’s how a man of clever mind,
Modified the compromise,
To give us time, to give our country life,
Knowing the balance will differ in each place and time.
There are three elements, in a free society,
The Twins Flames hog the stage of this story,
One flame: Why must things change?
The other: Things can’t stay the same.
The Twin Flames must stay locked in their eternal battle,
Because Three is the danger, the Change, the Radical.
Every age, every era, will have its Wild Men,
Some are for good and some are for bad.
Some are just breakers; others re-makers,
But through it all, we need the caretakers:
If the Flames break apart, then the Radical wins,
All hell will break loose, and we’ll all be dead.
But if the Flames are held loosely, then the Radical wins,
Never completely, but change can begin.
The Twin Flames are what hold the Door,
And give us the grace to move towards,
A compromise with no fixed conclusion,
Other than a more perfect union.
Washington gave us Liberty,
But Jefferson gave us Life
They etched the contract into wood,
Sealed it with blood and sacrifice.
With clean hands,
They opened the Freedom Door,
With clear conscious,
They said if this stands, then one year more,
With common purpose,
They gave us a few simple instructions.
You have your favorites, now lift the best,
And watch them soar above the rest,
Help them rise to the top,
Not on merit alone,
But because those below,
Are pushing them up.
Knowing there’s a power still untapped,
An uncharted future that’s barely been scratched,
To defend the pursuit of happiness,
You just have to say the words,
To defend our shared contract,
Take it, and make it yours.
For one more year, you will hold the Door,
And if this stands, 250 more.
If This Stands. © 2026 by Christopher X Sullivan. All rights reserved.