Standing Tall - a poem honoring Dr. King

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was quite the hero. His birthday comes on January 16. I wrote this poem in his honor back in the 1980s. There is a video of me reading the poem at YouTube youtu.be/FS4wwBpJp9E Of all the poems I have written, this one has been read by the most people.

You will find 190+ of my poems HERE. fno.org/poetry/index.html

Standing Tall

Some kings rule their kingdoms sitting down
Surrounded by luxury, soft cushions and fans
But this King stood strong
stood proud
stood tall

When the driver told Rosa
"Move to the back of the bus!"
When the waiter told students
"We don't serve your kind!"
When the Mayor told voters
"Your vote don't count!"
And when the sheriff told marchers
"Get off our streets!"
using fire hoses, police dogs and cattle prods
to move them along
This King stood strong
stood proud
stood tall
Speaking of peace
of love
and children
hand in hand
free at last
free at last

When some yelled for violence
For angry revenge
An eye for an eye
And a tooth for a tooth
He stood his ground
Preaching peace

And when some spit out hate
He stood there smiling
Spreading love
Until it rolled like the sea across the land
Sweeping away Jim Crow
Breaking down the walls
Ringing the bell
Joyfully
For Freedom

Until
Standing on the mountain top
They shot him
Coldly
Hoping to see him fall
Hoping to put him away
To bring him low

But this King
even in death
even today
stands strong
stands proud
stands tall
And we remember

by Jamie McKenzie

© 1982, Jamie McKenzie, all rights reserved.
I shot this photo of the statues outside the Oregon Convention Center.

You will find more of my poems and songs here
and in The Storm in Its Passing and Flights of Fancy.

My songs are at
www.youtube.com/user/edtech2008/videos

Taken on: April 24, 2003

Tags:

Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King, Jr.

BLM

Black Lives Matter

We shall overcome

Freedom

Let freedom ring

I have a dream « less

Sets appears in: • Jamie's Poetry • Statues

Groups appears in: • Poetry and Photographs, not just photographs. • iFlickr more » • Statues and Sculptures. • Poetry • FlickrToday (only 1 pic per day) • flickr poetry • Simply Poetry • 1000 words of poetry • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. • Poems, Poems, Poems • Perfect Beauty II • The best picture of the world « less

Camera: NIKON E775, f/2.8, 1/263 sec, 5.8mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	NIKON E775
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/263)
Focal Length:	5.8mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	iPhoto 9.6
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