I Dream a World

Robert Southwick Richmond

I DREAM A WORLD

 

I dream a world where everyone

will have enough to eat,

a roof above their head, warm clothes,

and shoes upon their feet;

 

where everyone shall learn to read,

to measure, think, and write,

where none against their neighbor takes

up arms, or seeks to fight;

 

where every faith may speak its truth,

where free the press may flower,

where citizens may meet in peace,

and all speak truth to power;

 

where sickness has a common cure,

and few in sickbeds lie,

where health for all’s a common good,

and death itself shall die.

  • Author: Robert Southwick Richmond (Offline Offline)
  • Published: January 18th, 2021 14:28
  • Comment from author about the poem: This morning National Public Radio (NPR, in the US) issued a poetry challenge in honor of the birthday of Martin Luther King: write a poem in response to Langston Hughes (1902-67) I Dream a World. This poem, in four verses, shifts from short meter to common meter, and I wrote my response entirely in common meter, with his abcb masculine rime scheme. \r\nHeres the NPR link, which includes the original poem:\r\nhttps://www.npr.org/2021/01/18/956827920/poetry-challenge-honor-mlk-by-describing-how-you-dream-a-world\r\nThe twelfth line is shamelessly plagiarized from Bayard Rustin (though commonly attributed to George Fox), the sixteenth from Isaac Watts.
  • Category: Unclassified
  • Views: 99
  • Users favorite of this poem: Jerry Reynolds, L. B. Mek
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Comments +

Comments6

  • orchidee

    Good write Robert.

  • Doggerel Dave

    Good straightforward job your poem, which I liked for its simplicity.
    Comments by author a little more complicated, but I enjoyed a trip to NPR, as slivers of it's output do end up on ABC (Aust Broadcasting Commission - our public radio). However I never investigated further.

  • Jerry Reynolds

    Thanks for that Robert. My favorite of the day.

  • FredPeyer

    I love your poem. Let's hope that dream becomes reality!!!

  • Goldfinch60

    Good write Robert, may it all come true one day.

    Andy

  • Robert Southwick Richmond

    Still waiting to find out if I'm on NPR! Guess it won't be before Thursday.



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