Nobel Peace Prize.In the public domain.
By Stefan Schindler
Note from Kathie MM: Today, tragically, is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., whose courageous leadership on behalf of peace and social justice has been receiving renewed attention this year on this blog and elsewhere. Today, please immerse yourself in this new ode to the King from Stefan Schindler.
ODE TO THE HUMBLE-KING
“Wealth, poverty, racism, and war. These four
always go together,” said Martin Luther King.
His words ring with urgency and truth,
as we applaud the awakening of youth
from the nightmare of parents in the voting booth
choosing more of the same: carnival of greed,
devoid of shame; goes by the name “land of the free,
home of the brave,” but is in fact Plato’s cave.
“He not busy being born is busy dying,” said Dylan.
And yet, “toy guns that spark” will never kill
the “flesh-colored Christ that glows in the dark”
who still teaches compassion. “There are no passengers
on spaceship earth,” said Buckminster Fuller.
“We are all members of the crew.” This is something
John and Robert Kennedy knew. John Lennon too.
Meanwhile, the dream … is not over. We continue to …
Imagine: a Peaceable Kingdom on earth, free of strife;
where music … is the medicine of life.
These are, indeed, “times that try men’s souls,”
Thomas Paine declared, not really all that long ago,
when the country was young, and sought to be free
from the oppressive grip of tyranny. And now it falls
upon you and me to keep the faith, shine the light;
keep the fires of peace and justice shining bright
for all to see; as Buddha did on Eagle’s Peak.
Yes, we seek: the triumph and the glory of The Good:
planetary peace at last, in a spirit of … universal …
brother-sisterhood. I believe we can; I believe we will;
inspired by the life of Martin Luther King, whose words
still sing, and legacy still … shines like the sun.
You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
Spreading, now, the Golden Fleece upon the beach
that is the shore to the dream come true, we know who
carried the torch and lit The Way. Each day,
what a sight! Precious, with beauty and delight.
In the sacred hoop of the Peace Abbey School
of Life Experience, gathered in Unitarian ring,
we celebrate Gaia, Gandhi, Romero,
and remain inspired by … the spirit of
Martin Luther King.
Stefan Schindler; Peace Abbey Cottage Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King; The Life Experience School; Millis, Massachusetts; April 4, 2018.
Stefan is co-founder of The National Registry for Conscientious Objection, a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, a recipient of The Boston Baha’i Peace Award, and a Trustee of The Life Experience School and Peace Abbey Foundation, Dr. Stefan Schindler received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Boston College, worked one summer in a nature preserve, lived in a Zen temple for a year, did the pilot’s voice in a claymation video of St. Exupery’s The Little Prince, acted in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” and performed as a musical poet in Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City. He also wrote The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Awards for Howard Zinn and John Lennon. He is now semi-retired and living in Salem, Massachusetts. His books include The Tao of Socrates, America’s Indochina Holocaust, Discoursing with the Gods, and Space is Grace; his forthcoming book is Buddha’s Political Philosophy.