the Lord you’re gettin’ more like a girl every day!”

makinghisvermilion8neckappear unusuallylongandslim.Hislittle legs,bentsharplyatthe knees,hadnever beforeseemedsofragile,sothin.

noanswer buttheropyrain

itfellstraightdowninparallelpathslikeropeshangingfromthe sky

thefloodof childishspite evanescedaswel

IranasfastasI could,leavinghimfar behindwitha wallof raindividingus.Thedropsstungmyfacelike nettles,

Whatare thewordsthatcansolder crackedpride?)

The sundisappearedanddarknessdescended,almostlike night

Atthatmomentthebirdbegantoflutter,butthe wingswere uncoordinated,andamidmuchflappingandasprayof flyingfeathers,ittumbleddown,bumpingthroughthe limbsof the bleedingtree andlandingatourfeetwithathud.Itslong,gracefulneckjerkedtwiceintoanS,thenstraightenedout,andthebirdwasstill.Awhiteveilcame over theeyesandthelongwhite beakunhinged.Itslegswere crossedanditsclawlike feetwere delicatelycurvedatrest.Evendeathdidnotmar itsgrace,foritlayontheearthlike a brokenvase ofredflowers,andwe stoodaroundit,awedbyitsexotic7beauty

potof gold.

ottonbollswere wrenchedfrom thestalksandlaylikegreenwalnutsinthe valleysbetweentherows,while the cornfieldleanedover uniformlysothatthe tasselstouchedtheground

Thatafternoonitroaredbackoutofthe west,blewthefallenoaksaround,snappingtheir rootsandtearingthem outofthe earthlike a hawkattheentrailsofa chicken.C

the summerof 1918,wasblighted.InMayandJune there wasnorainandthe cropswithered,curledup,thendiedunder the thirstysun

Promisehungaboutuslike the leaves,andwhereverwelooked,fernsunfurledandbirdsbroke intosong.

thatpride,whose slave Iwas,spoketome louderthanalltheirvoices,andthatDoodle walkedonlybecause I wasashamedof havinga crippledbrother

We dancedtogether quite welluntilshe camedownonmybigtoe withher brogans,hurtingmesobadlyIthoughtI wascrippledforlife

AuntNiceysaidthat,after somuchtalk,ifweproducedanythinglesstremendousthanthe Resurrection,she wasgoingtobedisappointed

Keepinga nicesecretisveryhardtodo,likeholdingyour breath.

Hope nolonger hidinthe darkpalmettothicketbutperchedlikea cardinalinthe lacytoothbrushtree

our laughterpealingthroughtheswamplike aringingbell

didnotknowthenthatpride isa wonderful,terrible thing,a seedthatbearstwovines,lifeanddeath.

Ipulledthe go-cartthroughthesaw-toothfern,downintothe greendimnesswherethe palmettofrondswhisperedbythe stream.I liftedhim outandsethimdowninthesoftrubbergrassbeside a tallpine.

Crawlingbackwardmade him looklike adoodlebug,soI begantocallhimDoodle,andintime evenMamaandDaddythoughtitwasabetter namethanWilliamArmstrong.

eventhoughitwasformalandsoundedasif wewere referringtoone of ourancestors

andfinallycollapse backontothe bedlike anoldworn-outdoll

soI begantomakeplanstokillhim bysmotheringhim witha pillow

rustlinglike palmettofronds

OldWomanSwamp

whichislike tyinga bigtailona smallkite.Sucha namesoundsgoodonlyonatombstone.

DaddyhadMr.Heath,thecarpenter,builda little mahoganycoffinfor him.

Shesaidhewouldlive because he wasbornina caul,2andcaulswere madefrom Jesus'nightgown.

tinybodywhichwasredandshriveledlike anoldman's

he wasn'tcrazycrazylike oldMissLeedie,whowasinlovewithPresidentWilsonandwrote himaletter everyday,butwasa nice crazy,like someone youmeetinyourdreams.

the grindstone beginstoturn,andtimewithallitschangesisgroundaway-andI rememberDoodle

songseemstodie upinthe leaves,asilverydust

theirsmelldriftedacrossthe cottonfieldandthrougheveryroomof ourhouse,speakingsoftythe namesof ourdead

butthe oriolenestinthe elm wasuntenantedandrockedbackandforthlikeanemptycradle.

summer wasdeadbutautumnhadnotyetbeenborn,thattheibislitinthe bleedingtree

Billy Collins’ poem “Marginalia”

"unwise and untimely."

And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

et us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty

Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of history, we were here. For more than two centuries our forebears labored in this country without wages; they made cotton king; they built the homes of their masters while suffering gross injustice and shameful humiliation -and yet out of a bottomless vitality they continued to thrive and develop

Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification? Where were they when Governor Wallace gave a clarion call for defiance and hatred? Where were their voices of support when bruised and weary Negro men and women decided to rise from the dark dungeons of complacency to the bright hills of creative protest?"

I say this as a minister of the gospel, who loves the church; who was nurtured in its bosom; who has been sustained by its spiritual blessings and who will remain true to it as long as the cord of life shall lengthen.

you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But is this a logical assertion? Isn't this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? Isn't this like condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock? Isn't this like condemning Jesus because his unique God consciousness and never ceasing devotion to God's will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion?

Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed,

It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience. In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.

Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal. By the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal. Let me give another explanation. A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though Negroes constitute a majority of the population, not a single Negro is registered. Can any law enacted under such circumstances be considered democratically structured?

A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an "I it" relationship for an "I thou" relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. Hence segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has said that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.

I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all."

and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky

airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society;

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. T

Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."

dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood

stinging darts of segregation

Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.

directly, affects all indirectly.

We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere

everything Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal. If I lived in a Communist country today where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I believe I would openly advocate disobeying these anti-religious laws ...

It was seen sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar because a higher moral law was involved. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks before submitting to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience.

A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law, or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality ...

I would agree with St. Augustine that "An unjust law is no law at all."

the depressing clouds of inferiority

smothering in an airtight cage of poverty

stinging darts of segregation

inside the United States can never be considered an outsider

directly affects all indirectly

caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

"unwise and untimely."

the right to express and communicate ideas, to set oneself apart from the dumb beasts of field and forest; to recall governments to their duties and obligations; above all, the right to affirm one's membership and allegiance to the body politic-to society-to the men with whom we share our land

he freedom of speech

And I hope you will often take heart from the knowledge that you are joined with fellow young people in every land, they struggling with their problems and you with yours, but all joined in a common purpose; that, like the young people of my own country and of every country I have visited, you are all in many ways more closely united to the brothers of your time than to the older generations of any of these nations; and that you are determined to build a better future. President Kennedy was speaking to the young people of America, but beyond them to young people everywhere, when he said that "the energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it-and the glow from that fire can truly light the world."

the fourth danger is comfort

 A third danger is timidity

.

A young monk began the Protestant Reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and the thirty-two-year-old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal.

the road is strewn with many dangers.         First, is the danger of futility:

community. More than this I think that we could agree on what kind of a world we would all want to build. It would be a world of independent nations, moving toward international community,

in education, in employment, in housing

tragic gaps between promise and performance, ideal and reality

Everything that makes man's life worthwhile-family, work, education, a place to rear one's children and a place to rest one's head -all this depends on decisions of government

a land settled by the Dutch in the mid-seventeenth century, then taken over by the British, and at last independent; a land in which the native inhabitants were at first subdued, but relations with whom remain a problem to this day; a land which defined itself on a hostile frontier; a land which has tamed rich natural resources through the energetic application of modern technology; a land which once imported slaves, and now must struggle to wipe out the last traces of that former bondage.

Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.

let freedom ring. And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when we this happen, when we allow freedom ring

This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. (Soundbite of applause) Dr. KING: I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. (Soundbite of cheers and applause) Dr. KING: I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair,

when will you be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. (Soundbite of applause) Dr. KING: We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: for whites only. (Soundbite of applause) Dr. KING: We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. (Soundbite of applause) Dr. KING: No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. (Soundbite of applause) Dr. KING: And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.

the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice.

This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.

now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. (Soundbite of applause) Dr. KING: Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time... (Soundbite of applause) Dr. KING: ...to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men - yes, black men as well as white men - would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.

This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

Five score years ago