Representative John Lewis

Living courage, light of freedom

The NAACP is honoring U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, for his service in Congress and his long history as a civil rights activist. Credit Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press File

John Lewis was so many things: beloved,
An activist, an author of March, a book
For children. Demonstrations for civil rights
He made social, sacred rituals, changing
Our nation from its beating heart, making
Moral seismic waves, shaking the sleeping,
The apathetic, the privileged, the poor
And forgotten. The first walk across the bridge
Still named for the racist, Edmund Pettis, John
Lewis was beaten, and every year in congress
He walked that bridge again, a ritual drumbeat,
His steady dedication, the call, and great
Willingness to love all people, response:
Two parts of political jazz, playing trumpet
Of change for our future justice, our future peace
Farewell, John Lewis! You raised the banner for us
To follow. Stay alive in our memories so we
Continue to stand and march for freedom for all.

Aikya Param had a mother who loved to share good stories and a father who made art and loved science. They had two only children, fourteen years between them. She earned a master’s in Women’s Spirituality from New College of California (San Francisco) in 2002 and a Certificate in Spiritual Leadership from Holmes Institute of Consciousness Studies, Golden, Colorado.

For Param’s Prayer, Poem and Practice, click here.