To This Struggle
Community Artist: Rick Kearns
Poet Laureate, City of Harrisburg
I wish
I could find the answer
in a book
and there it would be
in black and white
but no such luck
and I'm looking to you
looking up to you
Dr. King, today.
When you lead
the Poor Peoples Campaign
Did you see this coming?
Did you see
Too many people
working too many hours
for so little
for so long?
Did you see
people, families with
full time jobs
standing in line
at Food banks the
families of soldiers
needing food stamps?
Did you foresee
that we would spend more
much more
on incarceration
instead of education?
It was in April, 1968
when you spoke to
black sanitation workers
from a Memphis union
You said,
" We’ve got to give ourselves
to this struggle
until the end."
You said this
the day before
the forces of hate
stole you from us.
And in our rage and grief
we forgot for a moment
that you had crossed
colorlines
but not
picketlines
to bring us all
together for a few
glorious seconds
that we are hoping to see
again.
The struggle
is not over
Dr. King
And I'll keep reading
I'll keep searching through those
powerful and inspiring
speeches you bequeathed to us
In the hopes we would avoid
"the racism, militarism and materialism"
you tried to warn us about.
The struggle
is far from over, Dr. King
and we will need
your strength
to make it to the end.