There
was something special, a moment, this moment
claiming
Martin, his memory, his cause, his legacy,
as
our own, in the nation changing,
moving
toward his hoped for future
a
dream still not yet fully fulfilled
Electing
a president, someone to lead us
who
would not have been given respect
not
so long ago, who would have been
as
Martin, as so many other, outcasts in
our
land, based on race, on the color of his skin
Claiming
his mantle, so many, seeing
maybe
for the first time, the equality,
the
shared community which Martin prayed for
all
people, all creeds, all colors
truly
equal under the law
Rising
in unison, one nation, honoring both men
on
Monday, on Tuesday, this coming week
a
healing, wounds bound up, a salve, a balm in America
starting
a process he longed for, worked for
a
process not nearly yet complete
A
different land than he knew,
beginning
again a dream, a hope,
an
oath, a nation moving forward
all
of us, to some extent, invoking,
claiming
Martin as our own
----
edited
January 18, 2016
Claiming
Martin – v4
(editing
version 3)
Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day
edited
January 19, 2015
Claiming
Martin – v3
(merging
edits to version 1 and version 2)
Edited
January 21, 2013
Claiming
Martin – v2
Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day
and
his final speech before his assassination
and
Inauguration of the President
Barack
Hussein Obama
&
&
several
poems written in 2009
written
January 17, 2009
Claiming
Martin
on
the juxtaposition of the
80th
birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
and
the inauguration of Barack Obama
as
President of the United States of America
&
edited
January 19, 2015
Changing
the Wind – v3
(merging
edits to original and version 2)
Edited
July 22, 2013
“changing
the wind – v2”
December 7, 2007
“changing
the wind”
Based on the comments of Jim
Wallis on
Speaking of Faith, November 29,
2007
He was talking about whether to
change politicians
or change the wind, to change
the public opinion
which guides politics. He used
the example
of President Johnson’s
statement to the
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. that it would
take 5 years for a voting
rights bill but
it actually took 5 months to
pass the Voting Rights Act,
after the March in Selma.
All of my
poems and photographs are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002,
2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015,
2016. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for
usage. See all 40,710+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
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