Who was Dr. Martin Luther King?

Why does his name cause those proverbial bells to ring?

Is it because of his dream of racial unity?

Racial equality for you and me?

This man, is he just another piece of history?

A name to memorize or research, possibly

Dr. King believed in the absence of tension, oppression, a dearth of enmity

No animosity in any city

Be it Birmingham, Montgomery, or Tallahassee

There will never be a noose hanging from an all-white tree

Freedom would ring, according to this dream

Races would mix, like coffee and cream

It would truly be an amazing thing

But tell me, who was Dr. King?

Did his words really amount to anything?

Do they influence our lives today,

The way we act

The things we say

Dr. King’s dream should be cultivated, we as people should not let it be devoured in the wild

After all it takes a village to raise a child

But we are more than a village; we are a city, a state

Not built on quicksand, not built on hate

Hate for the color of our neighbor’s skin,

never giving thought to anything.

So tell me, who was Dr. King?

Does his dream inspire us to be accepting?

We as people are judged for external things,

unlike the bright-red blood that flows within our veins

But instead the texture, the length, of our manes

Perms can make hair temporarily straight, but hate, yes hate, can leave permanent holes in our souls

What do we bring to the table when we are accompanied by Prejudice, by Hate?

With Hate at our table, what good do we create?

None at all, we can only destroy

Separate the white boy from the black boy

Divide based on the color of skin

Add a little hostility from within

Multiply the tension, develop it here and there

Subtract love, it’s not welcome here

Without love, races, colors collide like tectonic plates, scraping shrilly against each other’s hate

Trying to cover their faults on the top, but causing more tension than they can stop

So you ask do I believe that Dr. King’s dream has come true?

Well I believe that we still have work to do

To stop the hate crimes before they start

To let us open up our hearts

So tell me who was Dr. King?

Did his dream of freedom really ring?

Was his dream of racial unity really achieved?

In it have we really believed?

Maybe one day we can all sing, join hands and let freedom ring

But I need to know just one more thing

Who was Dr. Martin Luther King?

Robot  Villager

# 1 var sbtitle3600=encodeURIComponent(Are we “Fre...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 26.01.2008 21:56

Big-K  Villager

# 2 Congratulations Ese. Please keep it up as you're no doubt destined for greatness Posted by Big-K| 26.01.2008 23:27

dapxin  Villager

# 3 if (daughter != father ) && (daughter == father ) // who said ? exit the Olumenhse's house; If (daughter >= father) // who didn't say ? get your coat, get your flight ticket we are going for a party in Pluto We are flying Virgin Atlantic's Galaticas Space machines, WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD. second_base(ese) ; return; -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wondering what all these nonsense is ? Make I talk normally ? Ok. I will. This is good stuff. Congratulations Ese. Keep it coming. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PS: I 'll dedicate the Super Eagles goal(s) in Ghana to whoever translates the above into plain free text english language... Terms & Condition: This offer is only open during the 2008 African Nations Cup :D :D :D :D Posted by dapxin| 27.01.2008 00:29

Auspicious  Villager

# 4 Like Father.. Like Daughter. Congratulations, Ese! Excellent Prose! Auspicious. Posted by Auspicious| 27.01.2008 01:02

Amy  Villager

# 5 A lovely piece. Congrats Ese and more grace to you as the thoughts flow freely. You certainly did justice to a man who was and still is a pillar of strength and inspiration to all well meaning people everywhere in the world to date. He was about pride in our shared humanity and not prejudice! Kudos for underscoring the need to keep our eyes on the price because the dream of the inspirational KING is far from being fully realized! Yes, we have come a long way in the area of racial reconciliation but the hurdles are far from over. Later o. Posted by Amy| 27.01.2008 02:19

mulan  Villager

# 6 Nice talent there Great poetry too... So tell me who was Dr. King? Did his dream of freedom really ring? Was his dream of racial unity really achieved? In it have we really believed? Posted by mulan| 27.01.2008 07:26

Palamedes  Villager

# 7 Congratulation Miss Ese Olumhense. There will never be a noose hanging from an all-white tree This is a very clever line indeed; and if one were to expatiate on it, it would fill a book to do so. It is history encapsulated in few words. I wonder how many “educated” Nigerians understand what this young lady is talking about in her poem, because I remember once telling a very educated Nigerian friend of mine about Malcolm X, and the response was “Who is Malcolm X". @dapxin line #1: if (daughter != father ) && (daughter == father ) // who said ? line #2: exit the Olumenhse's house; Technically, line #1 is called a “Contradiction”, which is defined as: “a proposition that is always FALSE, regardless of the value of its variable”. This code would produce a “bug” in a computer program and would never run line #2. Posted by Palamedes| 27.01.2008 09:07

WayoGuy  Villager

# 8 Congratulations Miss Ese Olumhense. Your head and mind are properly focused. Remain focused and you will rise and shine like the stars. Best wishes. Posted by WayoGuy| 27.01.2008 10:09

dapxin  Villager

# 9 =Palamedes;4294984029>Congratulation Miss Ese Olumhense. This is a very clever line indeed; and if one were to expatiate on it, it would fill a book to do so. It is history encapsulated in few words. I wonder how many “educated” Nigerians understand what this young lady is talking about in her poem, because I remember once telling a very educated Nigerian friend of mine about Malcolm X, and the response was “Who is Malcolm X". @dapxin Technically, line #1 is called a “Contradiction”, which is defined as: “a proposition that is always FALSE, regardless of the value of its variable”. This code would produce a “bug” in a computer program and would never run line #2. You got it ! :D Clever... Fortunately, you will have to wait for your prize, I will dhl it to you, but be prepared, it may never come....until Ghana hosts the ANC again :) Posted by dapxin| 27.01.2008 16:50

Oluwato  Villager

# 10 Good job Ese! That was brillant. Keep it up. Posted by Oluwato| 29.01.2008 23:46