image from timelife.com
March 7, 1965
“You must not be afraid to speak up, and speak
out for what you believe. You need courage, raw
courage.”--John Lewis
Twas at Brown’s Chapel
Church where the freedom riders
gathered, fists unclenched.
Martin Luther King
marched on point, John Lewis by his
side; 25 years old.
Almost 100 years
after Confederacy’s
surrender, but in
1965 the
Klan was strong, and racism was
rampant, raw, and cruel.
600 marchers poured
into the street, with 54
miles to the capital.
At the bend, they could
see the bridge, named after
Edmund Pettus, who
was a Confederate
general, a Grand Wizard
of the Ku Klux Klan,
later becoming an
Alabama senator;
considered a hero.
The marchers strained
climbing the face of the bridge;
once at the crest, they
clearly saw hundreds of
“Bama state troopers stretched
50 deep across the street.
Then the crack of a
whip as troopers charged right at
the helpless marchers.
On horseback, with dogs,
armed with clubs, whips, and tear gas
they ran over the crowd.
John Lewis tried to cover
a fallen woman, and had
his skull cracked for it.
Almost every year
there is a reenactment,
minus the violence.
Over 50 years later,
John Lewis passed on at 80.
Trump refused to pay
his respects as Lewis
lie in state; once again he’s
shown his true nature.
Lewis was given
six days of honors, starting with
doing the march itself.
The caisson rolled so
slowly, with John Lewis aboard,
taking his last ride.
Two black horses pulled the
wagon; our grand flag draped tight
over the casket.
One more time, oh God,
one more time, before the bridge
is renamed for Lewis.
Glenn Buttkus
Haiku sequencing
Posted over at d'Verse Poets Pub
13 comments:
It's important to evoke such events. So many...
Fine hommage.
A fine history lesson, Glenn, and tribute to an American hero. How I wish there were more John Lewis's in Washington, and not the selfish, arrogant, demented egomaniac who resides in the White House
Bravo, i learned a lot of new stuff, from your sequence
Happy you dropped by to read mine
Much✏love
A fitting haiku sequence for the passing of a great American. Well done.
A poignant story, evocative and heartrending! Bravo!
A very nice tribute to John Lewis, Glenn. A eulogy written in Haiku!
An epic sequence, Glenn, and a history lesson for me – the only John Lewis I had heard of is a British department store. You conveyed the violence of the time powerfully in the list of three in the lines:
‘1965 the
Klan was strong, and racism was
rampant, raw, and cruel’.
The marchers were brave and stalwart, going all that way only to be attacked by troopers.
A wonderful and honest tribute Glenn.
A brave man and this is an amazing tribute!
A beautiful elegy. How could it be otherwise? The world will miss him.
An inspiring elegy and nicely descriptive history lesson.
In a nut shell.. you nailed it!!!
Pat
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