The poem, Praise Song for the Day, written by Elizabeth Alexander, is about recognizing the citizens of the past and present for leading the country in the right direction. Recognizing the different people that lead different lives and made the fabric of the country and coming to get together to celebrate the big moment. This poem was written for Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony to celebrate the first president of the United States of America of colour. The poem reflects on the people of the past that had to overcome adversity to survive. It acknowledges the Chinese slaves “who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges” (line 27). It also acknowledges the African American slaves that “picked the cotton and the lettuce” (line 28). These are key examples of citizens of the past that fought through hardships and survived to fight for our rights we have today. The poem also mentions the people of today and how they drive the world today in the right direction. The poem talks about the people of today and how “each day we go about our business” (line 1). This line starts off the poem addressing the citizens of the present connecting the audience to the poem. It shows how the present-day citizens run our society evolving it in the right direction to be more accepting, equal, and diverse. With the achievement of the first president of the United States of America who was of colour, it shows how the world has progressed and how people have led it to be where it is today. This poem was created to celebrate and encourage people to “Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day” (line 31). This represents how we should always be grateful for the ones that have struggled in the past and be grateful for every day we have. In conclusion, this encouraged people to honour those in the past that laid the foundation for the people in the present so they could celebrate that moment.