MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. | A Nation Just & Kind
In a land where magnolias bloom, a different tale unfurls,
A world of the segregated South, Jim Crow’s hush swirls.
The hues of humanity parsed by law and creed,
Injustice etched in parchment, fueling a bitter seed.
A land of cotton fields, under a sullen sky,
Where the rivers of equality had run dry.
Beneath the Southern sun, on those weary streets,
Echoed the silent hymns of the incomplete.
Born in the winter’s hush of ’29, Atlanta’s child,
Martin Luther King Jr., heart and spirit undefiled,
Emerged as a beacon, an orator of peaceful war,
Against inequality, injustice, he dared to roar.
In the face of deep-set prejudice, he took a stand,
Transformed a nation with his voice, heart, and hand.
With Rosa Parks’ defiance, a spark was struck,
In Montgomery’s buses, segregation ran amok.
The boycott led by King was a monumental feat,
An echo of resistance reverberating down the street.
Then came the March on Washington, a potent tide,
King’s “I Have a Dream” speech rang far and wide.
Just thirty-five, he garnered the Nobel Prize for Peace,
A testament to a commitment that would never cease.
His wisdom drew from Gandhi, a bridge of peaceful resistance,
In his words and actions, he exemplified persistence.
With eloquence he wrote and spoke, inspiring minds,
Advocating for equality in all of its kinds.
Education, housing, jobs—King fought for rights,
Against a tide of racial injustice, he lit the lights.
From Selma to Montgomery, he led the march for votes,
Against the currents of the time, he pushed the boats.
His activism, tireless, shaped the laws of the land,
Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, justice’s hand.
A tragedy in Memphis, 1968, took his breath,
But his legacy thrives on, beyond his death.
A witness to resilience, to justice and equality,
King’s dream remains alive in the heart of society.
One of the most impactful leaders, his name does ring,
His influence, profound, makes the “caged bird sing.”
His words, his deeds, his life—a clarion call,
Echoing in the hearts and minds of all.
His speeches, now symbols of hope, equality, justice,
His life, his legacy—none can efface.
The historic site in Georgia, his childhood’s space,
Preserves his essence, in the human race.
King beheld a vision, a nation just and kind,
Where not the color of our skin, but our character defined.
In the heart of every soul, he saw potential vast,
A future unfettered by the chains of the past.
He spoke of a world where judgment ceased to be
Bound by the superficial hues that the eye can see.
For the essence of a man lies deeper within,
In the strength of his spirit, not the surface of his skin.
In January’s enfolding, when the winter winds call,
We remember a dream, a vision for all.
Not by the shade of skin, but the heart’s true display,
We honor the dream, and the path he did lay.
By: Greg McNeilly