Amanda Gorman Poem

“History has its eyes on us….” 

Source: Rob Carr / Getty

Showstopper Amanda Gorman has become the nation’s youngest inaugural poet and she did so in spectacular fashion during the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States.

Gorman, 22, closed out the inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris with a poem titled “The Hill We Climb.”

MadameNoire reports that Gorman, who was awarded National Poet Laureate in 2017, was requested to deliver her inaugural poem at the request of First Lady Dr. Jill Biden who saw the young poet give a reading at the Library of Congress and was rightfully moved. She’s also a fave of none other than Oprah.

Prior to making hearts sing and eyes water with her words, Amanda told NPR  that she was in the middle of doing research and looking to the words of the likes of Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr, Frederick Douglass, and Winston Churchill when that Ivory Inserruction happened at the Nation’s Capitol.

“I was like, ‘Well, this is something we need to talk about,” said Gorman.

That lead the poet laureate to conclude her piece that very night on January 6, 2021.

Amanda closed her poem like this;

“Later that night, she finished the poem, titled “The Hill We Climb.” In it, she writes:

We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it,

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.

And this effort very nearly succeeded.

But while democracy can be periodically delayed,

It can never be permanently defeated.

In this truth, in this faith we trust.

For while we have our eyes on the future,

History has its eyes on us.

You wanna talk about #BlackGirlMagic? You wanna talk about talent?

Source: Drew Angerer / Getty

Listen to Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman deliver “The Hill We Climb” in full below.