美國總統就職典禮於當地時間20日圓滿落幕，在正副總統拜登（Joe Biden）與賀錦麗（Kamala Harris）接續宣誓並發表演說後，一名服飾兼容傳統民族性格、身裹鮮豔檸檬黃大衣的非裔青年步上講台。

在她偶而低頭看講稿、自然擺動手勢以配合朗誦之間，包含現場觀禮人與各地數百萬收看直播者，都不知不覺為文學獻出生命五分鐘。

受拜登夫人吉兒（Jill Biden）邀請，於2017年榮獲美國首位青年詩人桂冠（Youth poet laureate）的葛曼（Amanda Gorman），以22歲之姿成為1961年前總統甘迺迪（JFK）開創朗誦詩歌環節以來最年少的朗讀者。

葛曼長詩題為〈峻嶺吾登〉（The Hill We Climb），是她在受邀後、以凝聚國人士氣為主軸創作，且得知得踏上歷史性場合，葛曼毫不畏懼還相當興奮、備感榮幸。該詩原計時長3分半，而後因月初華府暴動影響再精修至5分鐘版本。

So humbled by everyone's support! If you'd like to read more of my words, you can pre-order my first ever poetry collection, The Hill We Climb, here! @penguinrandom https://t.co/vNSo3WFpuf

— Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) January 20, 2021

開頭便道「當那天到來，我們捫心自問，這場毫無止境的陰暗時期，如何才能覓得光芒？」，影射6日華府爆發衝突之日。

「那股撕裂我們國家、而非同甘共苦之力，我們都看在眼底，這若意圖脫累民主，便必將摧毀我國」，「且這企圖近幾成功，民主雖能被迫暫停，但永不會吃上敗仗」。

詩中葛曼形容自己，即便由單親媽媽一手拉拔長大、是個精瘦的奴隸後代女性，但身處在能抱有成為總統夢的時代，且如今發覺自己正替這人（副總統賀錦麗）朗讀。

Wasn't @TheAmandaGorman’s poem just stunning? She's promised to run for president in 2036 and I for one can't wait. pic.twitter.com/rahEClc6k2

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 20, 2021

來自伊里諾斯詩人的潔克森（Angela Jackson）評道「意涵豐富且恰好符合事實」，「她竟如此年輕且聰明完全嚇到我了」。

With her strong and poignant words, @TheAmandaGorman reminds us of the power we each hold in upholding our democracy. Keep shining, Amanda! I can't wait to see what you do next. 💕 #BlackGirlMagic

Photo credit: Rob Carr pic.twitter.com/C2cf0U5iEj

— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) January 20, 2021

葛曼於1998年出身加州，2014年獲封洛杉磯青年詩人桂冠時她才16歲，在2015年更出品個人詩集《The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough》，三年後剛進入哈佛研讀社會學的她，便成為首位獲頒國家青年桂冠之人，該獎由美國國會圖書館審核，預計今年還會推出圖文書。

葛曼長詩全文：

When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry, a sea we must wade.

We’ve braved the belly of the beast.

We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace,

and the norms and notions of what “just” is isn’t always justice.

And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it.

Somehow we do it.

Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken,

but simply unfinished.

 

We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one.

And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine,

but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect.

We are striving to forge our union with purpose.

 

To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.

And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us.

We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.

We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.

We seek harm to none and harmony for all.

 

Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:

That even as we grieved, we grew.

That even as we hurt, we hoped.

That even as we tired, we tried.

That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.

Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.

 

Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid.

If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made.

That is the promise to glade, the hill we climb, if only we dare.

It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit.

It’s the past we step into and how we repair it.

 

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

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.

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.

This is the era of just redemption.

We feared it at its inception.

We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour,

but within it, we found the power to author a new chapter, to offer hope and laughter to ourselves.

 

So while once we asked, ‘How could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?’ now we assert, ‘How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?’

We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be:

A country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free.

We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation.

Our blunders become their burdens.

 

But one thing is certain:

If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy and change, our children’s birthright.

So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left.

With every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.

We will rise from the golden hills of the west.

We will rise from the wind-swept north-east where our forefathers first realized revolution.

We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states.

We will rise from the sun-baked south.

We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover.

 

In every known nook of our nation, in every corner called our country,

our people, diverse and beautiful, will emerge, battered and beautiful.

When day comes, we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid.

The new dawn blooms as we free it.

For there is always light,

if only we’re brave enough to see it.

If only we’re brave enough to be it.