This Dreamer's life was quickly steeped in Southern Baptist creed
and, by the age of five, he would be learning hymns by heart.
Such influence, mid strict regime, would sow a fertile seed
to yield his path to righteousness, so destined from the start.
His father was a minister of high regard and fame,
an activist who fought against oppression's glaring sin
and, in his quest to find the truth, he even changed his name,
adopting Luth'ran* teaching for his parish and his kin.
But, in the home, paternal rule with whippings wrought much shame
and, contemplating right from wrong, evoked internal strife
For, when his grandma passed away, incurring no one's blame,
this sad, young boy with needless guilt would try to take his life.
His parents, soon, would strive to shield their son from racist slights,
to pacify his anger when his colour would divide.
Apartheid had ignited, then, a cause for civil rights,
a movement he invested in with boyhood zeal and pride.
A charismatic student, born to be an activist,
he first considered other routes in med'cine and the law
but then, to father's great relief, the Church revived his gift
to break down walls with eloquence and change the world he saw.
Though following in father's wake, his values were more free
as college life would open doors to drinking beer and games;
an inter-racial love affair could also never be
and heartbreak was the cross he bore pursuing past'ral aims.
The contrast in the northern states would stun him to the core,
where blacks and whites would integrate, a dream he would explore.
It fuelled desire more strongly still with passion that he swore
to free his home state, Georgia, from the shackles that it bore.
Then, at the age of twenty-four, he sought a girl to wed
and swept Coretta* off her feet before they even met.
With poetry of charm, romance, his sparkle warmly read,
'twas in short while, in Kingly style, the marriage date was set.
His calling for the pastorship would start his new career.
But soon a racist incident would fan his deep remorse
for Rosa Parks,* the subject of a boycott for a year;
its conduct, he declared, would only win with peaceful force.
Determined he would persevere though threats would oft abound,
he saw this landmark case take flight with fame that quickly spread,
and overnight in US news, his stature was renowned -
his boycott role propelled his name, became his watershed.
Despite success, he'd put himself within the firing line
and, though he garnered mass support that fuelled him on his path,
resistance also grew against his plans to redefine
a country, complex and at war,* arousing hate and wrath.
Attacked* and threatened, sent to jail, he knew the risks were great,
but driven on by faith and hope, he overcame his fear
with never-ending energy to give his protests weight,
inspire his cause with soulful might and focus ever clear.
And so in that grey storm and cloud, a day before he died,*
he made his last prophetic speech, a more reflective stand:
he claimed he'd reached the mountain top (on God's will he relied)
and destiny would be embraced - he'd seen the Promised Land.
"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord"
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