An Ode to Martin Luther King, Jr., in Remembrance of His Eighty-Third Birthday

These days, few ruminate what could have been
Or calculate the costs of what was lost.
Sadly, we live the lives of lesser men,
And scarce concern ourselves with what we ought.
When tragic, did those missiles blast, and slay,
T’was not only the light of this dear man—
Who bravely bore the burdens of our cause:
Aware of what he’d someday, have to pay.
T’was not only the dream, that day, to end—
When hate took aim, and charged him for our faults:

To whom, a paltry monument we’ve laid;
Dishonor, to his legacy we’ve brought.
To all who bore brutality—who paid
Time, after time, with blood: yet still they fought!
The more resolved to hasten forth that day:
Stalwart in hope, resolved to greet with peace—
The slings, the arrows, and the burning cross.
For our sakes, none of them did shirk away.
That in our day, all men might live in peace—
Such were the dreams for which those martyrs fought.

And so, today, we honor this great man:
Extol his works, recall brothers in peace.
But also, we’ve a duty to extend
This legacy bequeathed to you and me.
That this man’s works might bear their proper fruit
That joyous day, when finally we learn:
Concern, compassion, no longer at a dearth.
The world in bondage to a deeper truth,
And from our madness we men have soundly turned—
Then, peace, not war, shall finally rule the earth. Read more!