My Brief Moment With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”



My time with him was very brief.
A moment, and then gone.
Remembering brings me some grief.
Time stealing him anon.

In literature he looms quite high.
Never fading with time.
Leaving us all with tears to dry.
Uplifting words sublime.

Teaching us to fight the good fight.
Helping us to be free.
Encouraging us with all might:
“Reap Good out of Evil!”

King was a giant of ethics.
I met him with handshakes.
Nearby, at Yonkers Avenue.
Greeting us with good cheers.

About this poem

In 1964 I met the American civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, outside of the offices of Educational Heritage Incorporated, located at 733 Yonkers Avenue, Yonkers, New York, where I was briefly employed as a proofreader at a publishing house that edited and published the manuscripts of Dr. King, as well as those of other prominent African Americans. An online haiku poem of mine, “King, the Icon,” recalls this event in notes that explain the poem.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Written on January 13, 2022

Submitted by karlcfolkes on January 13, 2022

Modified on April 11, 2023

30 sec read
209

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EXEX XXXX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 468
Words 101
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Karl Constantine FOLKES

Retired educator of Jamaican ancestry with a lifelong interest in composing poetry dealing particularly with the metaphysics of self-reflection; completed a dissertation in Children’s Literature in 1991 at New York University entitled: An Analysis of Wilhelm Grimm’s “Dear Mili” Employing Von Franzian Methodological Processes of Analytical Psychology. The subject of the dissertation concerned the process of Individuation. more…

All Karl Constantine FOLKES poems | Karl Constantine FOLKES Books

57 fans

Discuss the poem My Brief Moment With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "My Brief Moment With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/117648/my-brief-moment-with-dr.-martin-luther-king,-jr.”>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    11
    days
    21
    hours
    24
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    "I walk down the garden paths, and all the daffodils are blowing"
    A Gwendolyn Brooks
    B Amy Lowell
    C Emily Dickinson
    D Elizabeth Barrett Browning