"The Gift Outright"

Poem recited at John F. Kennedy's Inauguration
by Robert Frost

The land was ours before we were the land’s.

She was our land more than a hundred years

Before we were her people. She was ours

In Massachusetts, in Virginia,

But we were England’s, still colonials,

Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,

Possessed by what we now no more possessed.

Something we were withholding made us weak

Until we found out that it was ourselves

We were withholding from our land of living,

And forthwith found salvation in surrender.

Such as we were we gave ourselves outright

(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)

To the land vaguely realizing westward,

But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,

Such as she was, such as she would become.

Thoughts about this Poem

Robert Frost, the poet chosen to deliver a powerful message at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, takes us on a journey through America's history, from its colonial past to its emergence as a sovereign nation. He poignantly reminds us that America was ours, even before we were hers, a land that we were tied to England. He underscores the profound lessons the land taught us about freedom. In a symbolic gesture, Kennedy requests Frost to alter the last line from “Such as she would become” to “Such as she will become”,  a change that echoes Kennedy's unwavering optimism.