250 years in, and America is still a work in progress. Many American poets have written hymns and howls, declarations and outcries for this country that brims with so many people, and so many hopes, from all over the world.

“I Hear America Singing,” Walt Whitman wrote, in the 1850s.

“…the varied carols I hear,

Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,

The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,

…The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,

Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else…”

Emma Lazarus’ “The New Colossus” was inscribed on the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal in 1903. It’s a poem in praise of immigrants who were cast out from other lands and found safe harbor in America.

“Give me your tired, your poor,” wrote Emma Lazarus.

“… your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

But Langston Hughes’ 1949 poem, “Freedom,” reminds us that many Black American families did not sail to America under the flame of a welcoming lamp, but were captive, shackled, to be sold into bondage. After the Emancipation Proclamation, many still endured segregation, bigotry and the constant threat of racist violence.

“I tire so of hearing people say, let things take their course,” wrote Langston Hughes.

“Tomorrow is another day.

I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.

I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.”

This week, as the U.S. Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship, you might read Shirley Geok-lin Lim’s 2017 poem, “Learning to Love America,” about how immigrants make America their own as they start families here.

“…because to have a son is to have a country,” she writes.

“…because my son will bury me here

because countries are in our blood and we bleed them”

The America great poets see is imperfect, unsettled, and unfinished, even after 250 years. Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote in 1958 these words that still ring out:

“…I am waiting

for a rebirth of wonder

and I am waiting for someone

to really discover America”

Copyright 2026 NPR

“This sucks. There is no other way to explain it. I joined a club. A club that shouldn’t exist. The worst club that a parent could ever be a part of. The club where I have to bury my child,” Mike Shevlin said on Facebook after his 3-year old son tragically died after drowning in the family pool.  

The devastating death of Elijah Shevlin in Washington Township has rocked the community. On June 27, Elijah was found unresponsive by his parents in the family pool. He died on July 3.  

According to Mike Shevlin’s page, the father started compressions immediately after finding his son face down and motionless in the pool.  

New Jersey native’s death: Army veteran fatally shot in Florida parking lot

First responders arrived quickly, and Elijah was transferred to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His brain had swollen to the point that nothing could be done to save his life.  

Elijah’s mother, Sandra Shevlin, posted on Facebook, describing her son as an angel.  

“I’m forever broken. I love you with all my heart, my sweet angel boy. You were too good for this earth,” she said. 

Elijah is survived by his parents and his two siblings, his twin Ella and 6-year-old Mickey. The family decided on organ donation.  

“Somewhere in this country, a phone is about to ring. On one end of the phone is a doctor. And on the other end is a parent who’s going to hear that an organ is waiting to save their child,” Mike said on Facebook. “And knowing that a few other Dads out there never have to feel the pain I feel can bring me some closure.”  

Peter Del Borrello III, Washington Township Council president, sent out a statement to the community calling for strength and support for the family.  

“Together, let us wrap out arms around them and remind them that an entire community stands beside them. This is our opportunity to show Mike, Sandi, Ella, and Mickey that they have an entire town behind them – not just today, but in the difficult days, weeks, and months ahead.” 

A historic train drew a huge crowd in Pennsylvania on Thursday, but the extreme heat came with it. Officials in Berks County declared a mass-casualty incident after more than 100 people waiting to see “Big Boy,” billed as the world’s largest steam-powered locomotive, suffered heat-related problems at the Reading & Blue Mountain Railroad Outer Station in Muhlenberg Township, reports UPI, citing local media. Temperatures hit about 106 degrees Fahrenheit as the train’s arrival was delayed for more than an hour.

Emergency calls began around 1:30pm local time. Forty-five people were taken to local hospitals, with one person who went into cardiac arrest revived before transport, authorities said. Children and older adults made up most of the patients. Big Boy ultimately passed through the station around 2:30pm en route to Philadelphia.

With Independence Day festivities looming, Muhlenberg Police Chief Randall Hoover cautioned that revelers should prep for continued heat, per NBC Philadelphia, which notes that some attendees at the Big Boy event had started showing up as early as 9am. “Heat is going to be an issue, stay hydrated,” Hoover advises. The CDC notes that heat-related illnesses can run the gamut from heat rash and cramps to heat exhaustion and heat stroke, per ABC27.