kaleidoscope

mlk jr, we've got work to do.


he was a dawn.

a new beginning,
a flourish of colors,
mixing into one.

in his eyes,
black and white turned gray;
colors blended,

without control.

his art seemed beauty to some,

other simply couldn't understand.

their minds were too clean-cut,
they saw only in black and white.

he wasn't color-blind,
like so many of them were.

he painted pictures of what life could be like,
illustrated the definitions of peace and harmony
through florid speeches.

his words seemed decadent to some,

others still could not understand.

their ears only heard the whistle of a bullet
in all those ornate sentences.

they had to stop him
for they feared he might actually
make a difference.

they were afraid
of the change he held in his hands.

they thought they'd stopped him.

they thought it was one man's dream,
                             one man's vision,
                             one man's choice.

he was a dawn.

he was the first to blur the lines,
the first to paint a world
withut discrimination.

that painting has yet to be finished.

he left his brushes wet
and his easel clean
that april day.

it's our turn to paint.