MLK 50th

I've posted this poem a number of times over the years and given yesterday's 50th annivesary of Dr. King's "I have a dream speech," I think it is still appropriate.

To wit:

MLK


© 1995 Rolland G. Smith

I had a dream the other night
   And Martin Luther King was there.
He spoke in tones befit the wise
   And asked me if I’d share,
The news of how his dream came out,
   Since he had been away.

I told him times had changed somewhat
   But the dream was still a dream
And somewhere in these many years
   Was progress, or so it seemed.
Tell me, he said, what has happened,
   Since he had been away.

We’ve legislated out the hate,
   I said, but laws can’t touch the mind,
If bias reeks within the heart
   There cannot be a human - kind.
It’s still not true, he said,
   For he had been away.

And then he said, where he is now,
   There is no ONE color bright,
Not black or white, yellow or brown.
   There is only a loving light.
It’s the truth I lived, and live,
   He said, as he went away.

PS:

From the Washington Post:

"Dozens of activists, actors, boldface names, former presidents and members of the family of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. are speaking at events to mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. But not one leader of the House or Senate is in attendance, on stage or speaking at the event.