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KingsWay
(Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 1929-1968)

Nobel Man, you walk the walk that prized the peace
Preacher Man, your sermons stream from sacred space
Soul Man, you swell the chest and loins with fire
Brother Man, you take the hit for cries of pain

Dreamer Man, you nudge us into wakening
Star Man, you steer us toward the drinking gourd
Marcher Man, you forge a path beset with snares
Music Man, you sing the song of freedom’s ring

Healer Man, you lay on hands that soothe and bless
Sower Man, you plant ripe seeds that reap rich crops
Yankee Man, you give our mountains majesty
Jailbird Man, you did the time; we did the crime

Warrior Man, you testify the price of peace
Friend, you bleed the blood that will not clot

I met Martin Luther King in 1957 at the Encampment For Citizenship in Riverdale, New York. I was so impressed with the way in which he tied together the civil rights movement with the peace movement, a conviction that cost him a lot of credibility with both blacks and whites.

I first wrote this poem in Philadelphia on April 4, 1968— the day King was shot. A neighbor, Barry Freeman, came over and told me about it, and we decided to put out a flyer with the poem and notice of a peace service the next day at the Liberty Bell. We were part of a inter-racial community coalition called Mantua-Powelton Project. We had an old mimeograph machine and cranked out a couple hundred copies. We were distributing them in Mantua when a big Buick pulled up and 5 black dudes with baseball bats jumped out looking for some honkys to pay some dues. I thought to myself, “Isn’t this something. I’m gonna get my head busted open promoting non- violence.”

Just then another car drove up with men we knew from the NAACP. They got the first guys to cool it and we were spared. The poem was published in The Daily Pennsylvanian the next day. It included the “n word” because I wanted to include the shock and horror of the slaying along with other qualities attributed to Rev. King. I’ve revised it several times since then, and it’s been published in different sanitized versions and places. On King’s birthday a year ago I read it to a group at a women’s prison and we had a rich discussion about peace, freedom and non-violence. Since then I’ve read it at a Quaker meeting, at a Judeo-Christian soup kitchen and at a Poet’s for Peace rally at ODU