The Moment of Freedom

Awarded winner of the Top 50 Most Powerful and Inspiring Stories for Vocal’s The Moment of Freedom Challenge

The moment of freedom

Is when the breath leaves your lungs

And the languages spoken

Are from various tongues

The moment of freedom

Comes at a cost

But that moment of freedom

Is not about loss

It’s the wind in your hair

It’s the safety and the peace

It’s going to bed

Knowing the fire reached a cease

Freedom is the things

That we all take for granted

Walking down the streets

Where seeds of strength have been planted

Food is not food

When you can’t enjoy the taste

It’s sustenance at best

So the body does not waste

Homes are not homes

When their walls are now gone

The king plays his games

The army's are his pawns

How could one single man

Have the world on its toes?

We keep asking that question

But nobody really knows

But that is the thing

About one man versus the people

They will find strength in themselves

Or in their torn down steeples

Seven billion against one

We will all rise above

Freedom is not empty

Freedom is the dove

And when that dove flies ahead

With its wings in the sky

That is when freedom

Is for both you and I

Freedom is not absence

Of eyes down upon you

Freedom is when they see

The paths that you march onto

Freedom is standing up

And breaking away from the chains

Freedom is within you

Freedom is the change

And when the skies are gray

And the hope is running low

Freedom waits within you

But it takes time to grow

Fascist’s lack of freedom

Is rooted in fear of the brave

Because they know that the people

Have a world they will save

Sometimes freedom

Can be ugly and cold

This is the fight of your life

But your impact is bold

History repeats itself

But so does relief

Because freedom can’t be taken

By a cowardly thief

At least not forever

Can freedom be lost

But we all know freedom

Is an expensive cost

It’s the cost of a life

Or the cost of a heart

To turn away from your home

As you’re forced to depart

But force does not live

In a world filled with strength

It simply can not last

When hope goes the lengths

This is the foundation

Of a freedom lead future

This is a wound

And the fight is the suture

Generations will remember

When these walls came down

They will sing songs

When freedom comes around

The bad can’t always win

When you stand up and fight

When you force your strength

To bleed into the light

And when you do decide to fight

Without hope or reward

Without witness to bear

That's when you move forward

Because good is not good

That searches for an upper hand

Good is only good

When hope is your brand

Freedom is deciding

The cause of your fight

Even when you’re scared

And your soul is full of fright

Deciding where you stand

Is deciding where you fall

That is freedom

If it’s anything at all

That’s a choice that can not be taken

No matter how hard they try

Because right now freedom

Is beheld in the eye

If you march forward

With a freedom state of mind

You may just get lucky

And the stars may align

Freedom is not freedom

Without a story to tell

This is the story

Of when the dictator fell

But the troops keep moving

And battle goes on

Freedom over the horizon

Freedom comes at dawn

Someday freedom

Will be worth this pain

Because this war will end

With Freedom for Ukraine