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MLK-12...The Portland Observer.-January 13,1993
Ode To
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR
Oh! He Carried The Cross For Me
He Carried The Cross For Me.
When I was ju st a boy, playing w ith a toy,
He was concerned about my Liberty.
When I stood telling tales, He spent many days in jail,
to restore to me my lost humanity.
When I was a hate-filled man, He made me understand.
He told me tru th ’s tha* set my poor heart free.
When I could only cuss, He rode the Freedom Bus,
and introduced me to responsibility.
When I d id n ’t have a friend, Nonviolently,
He sat in and made the nation honor my dignity.
When I d id n ’t have a coat and m y mama c o u ld n ’t even vote,
He made the C onyress set my people free.
When my sister didn t have a blouse,
and my dad couldn t buy a house,
He made Open Housing a reality.
We were dying in Viet Nam.and He stopped Old Uncle Sam,
and made him respect all humanity.
When i was but a slave,
He gladly went to his grave to set my m ind and body free.
He never was afraid, cause this is what He said:
"No matter what, my son, you m ust forgive!
If you haven't got a cause to die for,
then you’re not fit to live!"
And this is the challenge He left you and me.
When Martin Luther King died, I sat down and cried,
cause I had lost my best friend d o n ’t you see...
He taught me to forgive, and now I’m fit to live...
and now I too can face the tree...cause
He Carried The Cross For Me.
by James Luther Bevel
Copyright 1971 James & Helen Bevel
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