You’ve earned some time to rest, dear John.
The rest of us will carry on
the dream you honored all your life
till those who hate are dead and gone.
There is no death for you, my friend,
your body, it’s true, is at its end,
but you are an undying spirit
and you will come back to defend
the rights of those who’ve been denied
the freedoms which so many died
to gain and now fight not to lose.
You’ll again be marching at their side.
For hate dies fast, but love remains.
The losses drown in the wake of gains.
You’ve earned this rest, but I pray you’ll return
to eradicate hate’s bloody stains.
…
July 2020
