In Remembrance of MLK Jr.

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 Violet Flame


How about if King took a step down the pedestal?

And let his dreams be shattered by fear,

How about if prejudice raged on so vehemently?

That the hearts of the colored be gouged by a spear.


How about if the Klan kept fighting?

And the souls of the oppressed caved in too quick,

How about if the Browns and the Blacks remained brutalized?

And harmed and beaten at a single uptick.


How about if mothers and daughters were raped?

Their hands shackled together and eyes bleeding salt,

How about if no one was there to protect them?

It was legal after all, and always the victim’s fault.


How about if lynching and mobbing was praised?

Men whipped and pierced to howl through the night,

How about if they cackled, and sneered at your state?

As you would be gagged at the throat to see naught daylight.


How about if babies would be stripped from their mothers?

The mothers left to die without appeal,

How about if their bodies would be engulfed in fire?

While the baby's head was crushed by a leather boot’s heel.


How about we stop now with the how abouts?

And accept that this all was reality.

Because if it wasn’t for the work of a few great men,

Not even you would be saved from all of this that would be.


So yes, those times have long departed us,

And yes, we now lie lofty in our place high above such shame,

But we must never forget to acknowledge MLK,

For this holiday sprung from his water, his gales on violet flame.

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