酷我-北美枫

[Champagne]

Commemorations are being held across the US today to mark the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The civil rights leader and peace activist was gunned down April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was just thirty-nine years old.

Today, let's remember his wonderful life and help realize his dream. What follows is a poem written by Nordette Adams to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Remembering A Life By Nordette Adams

I remember him in the misted vision of toddler years
and again in girlhood, the booming voice on TV,
someone grown-ups talked about, eyelids flapped wide.
Elders huddled ''round the screen enraptured,
in fear for him, in awe.

I remember him.
His words swept the land, singing our passion.
Dogs growled in streets. Men in sheets.
Police battering my people. (Water, a weapon.)
Yet my people would rejoice... And mourn.

I remember him, a fearsome warrior crying peace,
a man--blemished by clay, the stain of sin as
any other, calling on the Rock--
Death''s sickle on his coat tails,
yet he spied glory.

Shall we walk again and remember him,
not as the Madison Aveners do,
but in solitude and hope
with acts of courage and compassion,
with lives of greater scope
carving fresh paths of righteousness?

I remember.

Note:

Nordette Adams is a black woman, a mother, poet and contributing editor at Blogher.org
_________________
I'm Champagne,
Bottled poetry with sparkling joy.

[[Champagne]]

Commemorations are being held across the US today to mark the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The civil rights leader and peace activist was gunned down April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was just thirty-nine years old.

Today, let's remember his wonderful life and help realize his dream. What follows is a poem written by Nordette Adams to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Remembering A Life By Nordette Adams

I remember him in the misted vision of toddler years
and again in girlhood, the booming voice on TV,
someone grown-ups talked about, eyelids flapped wide.
Elders huddled ''round the screen enraptured,
in fear for him, in awe.

I remember him.
His words swept the land, singing our passion.
Dogs growled in streets. Men in sheets.
Police battering my people. (Water, a weapon.)
Yet my people would rejoice... And mourn.

I remember him, a fearsome warrior crying peace,
a man--blemished by clay, the stain of sin as
any other, calling on the Rock--
Death''s sickle on his coat tails,
yet he spied glory.

Shall we walk again and remember him,
not as the Madison Aveners do,
but in solitude and hope
with acts of courage and compassion,
with lives of greater scope
carving fresh paths of righteousness?

I remember.

Note:

Nordette Adams is a black woman, a mother, poet and contributing editor at Blogher.org
_________________
I'm Champagne,
Bottled poetry with sparkling joy.

[Champagne]

April 4 is also the anniversary of Dr. King’s major address against the war in Vietnam. It was April 4, 1967, a year to the day before King was assassinated. He gave it at Riverside Church here in New York.


"These are the times for real choices and not false ones. We are at the moment when our lives must be placed on the line if our nation is to survive its own folly. Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest.


Now, there is something seductively tempting about stopping there and sending us all off on what in some circles has become a popular crusade against the war in Vietnam. I say we must enter that struggle, but I wish to go on now to say something even more disturbing. The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this sobering reality, we will find ourselves organizing clergy- and laymen-concerned committees for the next generation. They will be concerned about Guatemala and Peru. They will be concerned about Thailand and Cambodia. They will be concerned about Mozambique and South Africa. We will be marching for these and a dozen other names and attending rallies without end, unless there is a significant and profound change in American life and policy."

Following Dr. King's way of thinking, it's fair to say that the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit.
_________________
I'm Champagne,
Bottled poetry with sparkling joy.

[[Champagne]]

April 4 is also the anniversary of Dr. King’s major address against the war in Vietnam. It was April 4, 1967, a year to the day before King was assassinated. He gave it at Riverside Church here in New York.


"These are the times for real choices and not false ones. We are at the moment when our lives must be placed on the line if our nation is to survive its own folly. Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest.


Now, there is something seductively tempting about stopping there and sending us all off on what in some circles has become a popular crusade against the war in Vietnam. I say we must enter that struggle, but I wish to go on now to say something even more disturbing. The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this sobering reality, we will find ourselves organizing clergy- and laymen-concerned committees for the next generation. They will be concerned about Guatemala and Peru. They will be concerned about Thailand and Cambodia. They will be concerned about Mozambique and South Africa. We will be marching for these and a dozen other names and attending rallies without end, unless there is a significant and profound change in American life and policy."

Following Dr. King's way of thinking, it's fair to say that the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit.
_________________
I'm Champagne,
Bottled poetry with sparkling joy.

[ericcoliu]

[[ericcoliu]]

[christine]

[[christine]]

[星子]

Thank you sharing the story and the information.

Those who have dream want to fulfill their life. Dr. Martin Luther King's dream is to fulfill others' life.
_________________

[[ANNA]]

Thank you sharing the story and the information.

Those who have dream want to fulfill their life. Dr. Martin Luther King's dream is to fulfill others' life.
_________________

[Champagne]

[[Champagne]]