I Won't Quote King

Today, I won’t quote King, not the man—nor his dream,

For each decontextualized word and disconnected clip seems an assault on the man

I won’t quote King, not the man—nor his dream,

While 100,000 of God’s children don’t have clean water to drink

Not in some far off place, but here in this American promised land

Today, I won’t quote King, not the man—nor his dream,

While sitting comfortably in suburban seclusion with 15 million of His children going to bed hungry at night

I won’t quote King, not the man—nor his dream,

When a year and a few videos later, questions are still more plentiful than answers

No justice for another, because nothing can return that son to his mother

It’s a sin issue, my brother

It’s a sin issue you say

And with you I agree, dear brother

But I’m going to use the power He gave me to bring some deliverance down here today

Bring some deliverance to God’s children planted on Mississippi’s rich, alluvial soil

Where coming into the school doesn’t mean coming in out of the cold

Bring some deliverance to all His children trapped in the pipeline,

Shuffled along and shoved out

Today, I won’t quote King, not the man—nor his dream,

Without putting shoe leather to the nouns and hands to the verbs 

I won’t quote King, not the man—nor his dream,

Without committing myself to the work

Not just hashtags and likes, devoting my body to action.