Written on January 20th, Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, this poem reflects upon my feelings of both hope and tragedy that is woven throughout America’s history and present day.
a song for someday
today, a shadow steps
where light once dared
a name,
bitter,
blooms across the sky
what are words
but shattered wings?
the silence of dreams undone
this day, twice burdened,
drags the weight of hope,
of King’s march
a pulse, still beating
beneath the stone
o, america
how do you hold this grief?
palms stained
with both blood and promise,
both cradle and fist
the sun turns away,
and yet
somewhere a song
not for now,
but for someday
Photo: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Mrs. Rosa Parks, and David Boston (Parade Marshall) at The Great Freedom March Rally, Cobo Hall in 1963
KATHRYN SHEA DUNCAN 