Intrepid Murmurings

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16 Jan · Mon 2006

A Poem (For Dr. King's Birthday)

Who are we? we sit down at the the lunchcounter we get on the bus we cross the line into the white side we walk at our own pace we burn our sacred draftcards we let them know shotguns are not our style we sing songs of peace and freedom we bang pots and pans of protection we insist on no more violence we go to the capital and stay late we stand out in the cold we put our bodies on the line we are spiritual, moral and subversive we live our deepest beliefs in public we act upon our thoughts we turn research into day to day action we demand the truth be known we don't know what will happen we are yelled at and spit upon we are prodded brutally like cattle we are dragged off in handcuffs we have cigarette burns on our necks we eat grits in prison we have life transforming experiences we feel the warmth of blessed human solidarity we keep coming back we are everywhere we are the people we live it up! (3/10/97)

So I wrote this for a class I took back in college called "The History of Nonviolent Protest". It was taught by Marv Davidov, this guy who was not really a professor (at least at my school) but a crazy, passionate life-long activist, and an entertainer who for much of every class told us stories of things he had known and witnessed in his past. He'd been in the thick of it all, having traveled South to participate in the Freedom Rides in Jackson Mississippi, as well as so many other protests and other actions throughout the years. Definitely someone who has had his share of some interesting life experiences, and unlike anyone I had met before. He was a Minnesota native, if I recall, and I remember being really impressed at the time that he was friends with one of my favorite poets, Robert Bly. This poem is pretty much a collection of my notes from the things he'd said in class that day.

@ 08:39 PM PST [ Comments [0] ]

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