A Poem, a Meal, and Dr. King by Emily

A Poem, a Meal, and Dr. King by Emily - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

If I could have a meal
A meal with anyone,
I’d eat with Dr. King
That meal sounds pretty fun.

I’d ask him lots of questions
He’d probably have some for me,
We’d chat while we eat our dinner
Then I’d explain to him my plea:

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Why did you go so soon?
Your work here wasn’t done
You shouldn’t have died that afternoon.

We need you here today
Things aren’t what they seem,
It looks like things got better
But not much has changed, I deem.

It’s true your people can vote
And technically they’re equal,
But there’s some people who don’t understand this
It’s a recurring sequel.

There are people who judge with their eyes
And look only at colors,
These people claim they’re right
Most of them are even scholars.

But if you only judge by color
How do you see what's inside?
Dr. King please tell me
As a whole we need to take a stride.

The reason Dr. King
That I wanted a meal with you,
Is that we see eye-to-eye
On these issues I want to pursue.

You left such big shoes
That no one has filled quite right,
Shoes filled with big ideas
About equality, not spite.

I want your advice
On what I should do next,
About this touchy subject
Often so complex.

I want to continue your work
To make the world a better place,
Which is why I want this meal with you
Because you left too soon, without enough trace.”