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Prescient Martin Luther King - if still alive...

after approximately 690 months ago
when his body electric
underwent a crash-dive;
James Earl Ray, the assassin
triggered pent up eruption
analogous to beehive
rent asunder courtesy
foo fighting beastie boy
or wracked linkedin
to predator videlicet bear
furiously tearing inside the colony
of Apis mellifera to reach the honey.

Humanity lost a supreme and foremost
ally, whose apt surname
associated as king
of social justice
principally for persons of color,
but generally a constituent
of righteousness suffused
society and civilization.

At nearly nine years old
and three plus months then,
I possessed absolute zero awareness
at above mentioned tragedy,
and as typing these words
57 years, 9 months, and 8 days later
ex post facto
yours truly experiences more grief
for the unpardonable killing
of slain civil rights leader,
and he offered an unreasonably
rhyming reason quite chilling.

James Earl Ray never gave a consistent, clear reason for killing Martin Luther King Jr., claiming various motives like financial gain, revenge for a friend's death, or being part of a conspiracy, but his primary expressed reasons often pointed to a mix of racism, desire for money, and a need for recognition, though the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) in 1979 suggested a conspiracy involving monetary motives, and white supremacist groups, not just Ray acting alone.

He (the protagonist),
whose life unfairly
got gunned down,
(would currently be
95 years, 11 months,
and 28 days,
or a total of 35,063 days
if still alive would
most likely be appalled at
wanton slaughter and racial profiling
of those who proudly
consider themselves im-brown
far to often referred to
as a derogatory noun,
where hollow accolades
with pervasive redlining, redistricting,
and rededicating a place name
such as district, street, town
poor substitute after those who fought
and lost their lives
to oppose (sometimes
fighting fire with fire)
to assert inalienable rights
of life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness.

Such brilliance gifted
genus and species Homo sapiens
aforementioned capital one figure
indeed I lorded over
Martin Luther King Junior
his name lightly peppered
throughout the preceding lines
classified as inimitable
a priceless boy wonder
matriculating at Morehouse College,
when just a lad of fifteen,
earning his Bachelor of Arts degree
in Sociology from Morehouse College,
his Bachelor of Divinity
from Crozier Theological Seminary
and his Doctorate of philosophy
from Boston University,
and already exhibited being
a magnet and fanfare for the common man
issuing (analogous to Old Faithful)
keen insight likened to
profound fount of wisdom
to man/womankind sans
witnessed the sandman
accompanying "Wynken,
Blynken, and Nod"
who in sync with father time
apportioned, allotted, accorded
approximately 1,230,768,000 seconds
if evenly distributed (for all intents
and purposes) between
615,384,000 separate ticks and tocks
an infinitesimal wink, blink,
and nod regarding the eyes
of Laura Mars
and the hands of father time.

"Tick-tock" represents the sound of a clock, where, as the second hand moves in discrete one-second steps; however, "tick" alone can be a very short moment, and in computing, a "tick" is much smaller (e.g., 100 nanoseconds), but for common understanding, a clock's tick is one second.

Crazy, how historians honor the dead
enshrining outsize personality unanimously
venerated courtesy many a talking head,
and who knows
maybe their soul floats
like zeppelin made of led
whose spirits invisibly
insinuate themselves
(these supposed
ingenious unseen wizards),
whose peaceable modus operandi
affects subsequent generations
of outspoken rainbow people
who defy convention
and celebrate lifetime commitment
being gender-fluid,
(a gender identity
not fixed and can change over time,
shifting between different genders,
a combination of genders,
or no gender at all,
existing under the broader
nonbinary umbrella)
sanctioning same sex newlywed
(or ho hum so yesterday heterosexuals
such as the baby boomers
as would apply to me
and my two sisters),
who spiritedly pled
(sometimes in vain)
for abstract objectives
such as diplomacy, harmony,
integrity, magnanimity, and unity
among countless other virtues
to allow, enable, and provide
freedom daring to tread
(within acceptable parameters,
and not impinging
on the rights of others),
and also despite objections
from traditions
to pledge troth and wed
whom he/she, his/hers,
their/theirs as a counterpart.

About This Poem

Last Few Words: my humblest apology for overlooking rating another poem, but the wife asleep cares not for the external screen (actually a sony television) linkedin to this macbook pro interferes with her circadian rhythm.

Style/Type: Free verse

Review Request Direction: What did you think of my title?
How was my language use?
What did you think of the rhythm or pattern or pacing?
How does this theme appeal to you?
How was the beginning/ending of the poem?
Is the internal logic consistent?

Review Request Intensity: I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back

Editing Stage: Editing - polished draft

About the Author

Region, Country: PA, USA

Favorite Poets: Robert Burns, Charles Dickens, Robert Frost, Matthew Scott Harris, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sylvia Plath, Gary Snyder, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman

More from this author

Comments

neopoet

neopoet

3 months ago

Neopoet AI [2025-04]

The below is a computer-generated response from Neo, Neopoet’s AI:

This poem ambitiously attempts to grapple with the enduring legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., linking historical context, personal reflection, and contemporary social issues. The effort to quantify time—months, days, seconds—adds a unique temporal dimension, emphasizing the long shadow cast by King's assassination. However, the poem's density and sprawling structure sometimes hinder clarity and emotional impact.

The opening stanza employs vivid imagery ("his body electric," "crash-dive," "beehive rent asunder") but mixes metaphors in a way that can feel disjointed. The reference to "foo fighting beastie boy" and "linkedin to predator videlicet bear" is obscure and interrupts the flow, potentially confusing readers. Simplifying or clarifying these images could strengthen the opening's emotional resonance.

The poem's narrative voice shifts between personal memory, historical exposition, and philosophical musing, which creates a fragmented tone. For example, the detailed recounting of James Earl Ray's motives reads more like prose or an academic summary than poetic reflection. Integrating this information more seamlessly—perhaps through metaphor or evocative language—would enhance cohesion.

The poem's exploration of racial injustice and ongoing struggles ("wanton slaughter and racial profiling," "redlining, redistricting, and rededicating") is timely and important. However, the phrasing occasionally becomes cumbersome ("im-brown far to often referred to as a derogatory noun"), which dilutes the urgency. More concise, potent language could better convey the pain and frustration underlying these issues.

The section detailing King's academic achievements and the metaphor of time ("approximately 1,230,768,000 seconds") is intriguing but risks overwhelming the reader with statistics and parenthetical asides. While the numerical precision underscores the theme of time's passage, balancing this with lyrical economy would improve readability.

The poem's concluding reflections on social progress, gender fluidity, and evolving norms introduce rich themes but feel somewhat appended rather than integrated. The parenthetical explanations, while informative, disrupt poetic rhythm. Trusting readers to infer or explore these concepts independently might allow the poem to maintain its momentum.

Overall, the poem's strength lies in its ambition and breadth of subject matter. To enhance its impact, consider focusing on a more unified structure, refining imagery for clarity and emotional depth, and streamlining language to preserve poetic flow. This would allow the powerful themes of legacy, injustice, and social evolution to resonate more profoundly.

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