The speaker stood before the crowd
a tall, bronzed, kindly figure
and told the people all around
with clarity and vigour,
that segregation was something
that we know isn't right,
but it's not with the body
but the mind, that we must fight.
He travelled halfway round the world
to try and make them see,
that violence was not the thing
to set his people free.
His reputation grew and he was
always in the news
and multitudes of people came
to listen to his views.
His people knew that with God's help
he'd champion their cries,
with speeches on non-violence
he won the Nobel Prize.
But there were still some people who
just didn't think him right,
and disagreed with talks of peace
they thought it best to fight.
Now this man was so popular
his name a household word,
so when they tried to put him down
their voice was never heard.
One man became fanatical
and tried to find a way
to make the people listen
to the things he had to say.
But found the people only came
to listen to the preacher,
and realised a pupil cannot
interrupt the teacher.
In desperation now he tried
to get rid of this man,
his twisted brain had just one thought
to carry out his plan.
He watched across the rooftops
until the speaker came in view
and never gave a second thought
to what he had to do.
The countries all across the world
could hear the bullet ring,
and people cried to hear the death
of Martin Luther King.
Author notes
Option 2
A contest entry
- The 100 Most Influential Americans by ea.
600 points, ended December 4, 2006, 9 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday by Little Eagle.
500 points, ended January 26, 2007, 8 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Give me your absolute best poem by Gypsy-at-Heart.
850 points, ended May 2, 2007, 13 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Martin Luther King by Darc Soul.
525 points, ended October 30, 2007, 9 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - martin luther king by raggyann.
600 points, ended December 14, 2007, 6 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Celebration of Black History by Dark Otter.
600 points, ended March 8, 2008, 9 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - GIVE ME YOUR GOLD - MUST HAVE WON TWO GOLDS OR MORE, CONTEST #74 by Roaddog Wolf.
850 points, ended May 14, 2008, 19 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - History: BIG events and BIG people by Yorkshire Rose.
450 points, ended August 15, 2008, 16 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - In Honor Of Martin Luther King by Shantti.
575 points, ended January 20, 12 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - tribute to Martin Luthor King by trekkergirl.
400 points, ended January 27, 8 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Write About Your Favorite Historical Figure by SapereAude11.
450 points, ended August 3, 7 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Your Best Prewrite by Carly Pop.
700 points, ended September 2, 17 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - HEROES AND HEROINES-poems needed for ecumenical event at Anglican venue. by Vera Rich.
700 points, ended October 22, 26 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Prewritten Poems of Perfection by Michael-B.
750 points, ends November 26, 99 entries
• next poem in this contest, • Add to finalists list, or remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 43 of 43
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Thank you for entering the "Heroes and Heroines" competition, I am sorry it did not quite make it to the top 10 - but as youi will recall, I have given you 10 points for entering an appropriate "previously written" poem.
It is sincerely written and has some good lines. Unfiortunately, the rhythm stumbles in a few places (which is a little unfortunate in a poem that is to be used in a live presentation - which was, after all, the purpose of this competition!) and some of the phrasing seems a little banal to my ear - particularly in the two lines ending in "right".
I have to say, too, that the word "bronzed" strikes me as a little strange to use about Dr King. In the UK it would normally be used specifically to describe a "white" person who was beautifully and evenly sun-tanned (in the days when such sun-tans were still viewed as a mark of health and not a threat of skin-cancer!)!
On the plus side, this poem shows a good facility in rhyming - the rhymes are simple and well-chosen and help carry the poem forward. The only place where I felt the rhyme was a little forced was at the end... Certainly your build-up to the name ion the last line ios excellent rhetoric.. but I am a little worried about the use of trhe word "ring" - for ti does look as if it were chosen ONLY on account of the ehyme... DO bullets really "ring"? But this is perhaps being over-pernickety...
Once again... thank you for entering this poem in the competition. I wish you every success with it. -
Wonderful
Lovely and beautiful
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Great poem for a great man!! thank you for entering!
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One of our country's greatest heroes and an inspiration to us all. I like how you shift the focus here from Dr. King to going inside the mind of his killer. Great writing and thanks for entering!
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A very impressive write! I loved the rhyme and flow to this.
An interesting narrative that is definitely worth the awards it's won.
Best of luck!
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congrats on all the trophies this has won. I think it is well deserved because this is an excellent write you have here. Telling of the life and wonders of the man who is Martin Luthor King.
Thanks for sharing this with us and thanks for entering it into this contest. -
Excellent descriptives in your poem. I really liked the way you describe the whole scene up to the conclusion bringing to light the disastarous end.
Thank you for your entry. -
Moving so heart felt...even in this speaker' death our God reigns...captured every thought. Blessings.
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wow, this is an moving and unique poem, strong and powerful poem well done and thank you for your entry
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Tres Belle
This was beautiful. I liked how well you were able to draw in emotion while telling the story. It was very heartfelt. Well done and good luck in the contest
~*~Silent Insanity
*****
"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."
-Martin Luther King Jr. -
OMG! This is tragically beautiful and very well penned. The flow and structure were excellent! And you've discussed a series of events while still able to pay respect and homage to this great figure in history. Great job! Wishing you the best in this contest.
~The INC."
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Thank you!
One of the most inspirational writes I ever read was a piece that Martin Luther King wrote while he was in An Alabama jail. The man had great power with words both in his writing and his oratory. What he said and wrote had the ability to cross color lines and inspire people to action. It showed me life in words. Thank you for entering this.
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i can see why this won gold
i really admire the rhyme to this. i could never in a million years write rhyme that read this well. your words give honor to Martin Luther King
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This is a great poem. Hope that you win all of the contests that you enter with this poem. Other than the contests, what was your motivation to writing this poem.
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Very fitting for today. Just beautiful, and a vivid tribute to a man that was so influential in our society.
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A simplistic...
...rhyming scheme, though the flow is excellent.
A very well written and emotive poem.
Well done.
Robin.
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simple beautiful .. well express... ienjoyed the imagery and flow is excellent
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beautiful simply beautiful. This was Great writting. I really enjoyed it.
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i am crying
now
as this is what he was and all he stood for and his death
this was a beautiful poem it spoke volumes to me and i felt your words in my heart
thank you for entering
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For some reason the system isn't letting me applaud even though I have both enough points and frees left... let me try again
edit: hopefully I'll remember to try again later -
Well deserving of the gold for an influencial American, I think the poem has agreat flow and for the most part excellent rhyme.
I like how the reader can almost predict the next word, especially with the name drop at the end.
A very fitting, and well done, tribute to MLKjr,
=> Jess -
This is an awesome write
about Dr. King. I applaud this in every way.
I don't have to say much, because everyone who has read this agrees. Wonderful.
e
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I have to agree with all said. This was indeed a greatpeice on a great man. I appreciateyousharing this with us in your words.
Well donr -
Thanks for your entry
I wrote a poem about Martin Luther King Jr too. It was about segragation was bad. I almost put in immigration but my mommy fixed it for me. But other than that I really liked the poem.
God Bless
Ashley
littleoneoldone -
He was a great man indeed and he fought for what he believed in. He was a strong man and was a proud man til his dying day, a most honourable man in history, I must agree with you there.
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Thank you for entering my contest and sharing this wonderful poem with me. The rhyming and meter were very well done and made this easy to read. I love how you only revealed his name in the last line, even though it was pretty obvious who you're writing about... You told the story in an interesting way.
Good luck and keep up the great work!
Annie
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it is unclear who killed him, but besides that this poem lacked originality, it seemed to say the same thing the same way like it has been thousands of times, thank you for entering and good luck
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I actually don't know much about Martin Luther King, and yet your poem so emotional and yet almost biographical told me a lot about this man. I like the way you worded his views and told his story well, but also told the other side of the story about the feelings of the people who insisted on fighting. Only that way can we make the true comparison between the peaceful and the angry.
I thought it was a very good piece and a very interesting write -
thank you for entering the contest. whisper
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Thank you very much for entering this contest. I may add much more of a comment later on since there are so many other submissions.
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serious clown
A very powerful and touching tribute to a strong public figure.
Just one thing:
"His people new that with Gods help" -- 'new' should be 'knew'
Wonderful write, I see it won gold in another contest.
Well deserved
Thank you for your entry and best of luck
Stay safe
~Amanda
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Thank you for your entry
Yes this is true, he was a well known figure of peace and some are so full of hate they are blinded by it. Thank you for sharing
The flow was great, good rhyme and rhythm. I would have liked to see you seperate it into stanzas since it is such a long poem.
As always I want to encourage you to keep writing to read and comment.
God Bless
Tammy -
An excellent dedication. I love this.
Thanks very much for entering my contest.
Good luck.
Brian -
A very effective write that recounts a history lesson in non-violence and its ironies as well detailing the biography of this Great man. I liked how you waited to say his name til the very end and really think this kind of folk poem is how they should be teaching history in elementary schools. Even put it to music and sing it, which I can imagine doing with this piece very well -- it will stick with you.
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Thank you so much for your comments,I really appreciate it very much, best wishes---Norman
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preach on!!!
not caring much for anyone or anything having to do with anything found in a newspaper i cant say that i really care one bit about the topic of this poem but the poem itself was really good and forced me to enjoy what by nature i want not to.i didnt get to live through his time nor do i claim to know all that much on the man but i often find myself wondering where a man the likes of mlk is these days.jesse jackson is an idiot and a hypocritical one at that.there really is no one to replace the man and those that try are far from it.granted there may not be another that could fill his shoes but surely theres something better than the jackson jr's and sharptons.a sad state of affairs though often comical. -
you've a very good rhyme in this
you've told King's story very well and with passion. that you've done it in rhyme is admirable. nicely done
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Wow ur a great writer!!!! i love your work its great i hope that i can acheive wat your doing soon i rellly love writing and always have and im tryi g 2 improve i love wat u do!!!
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Thank you so much for your comments,I would applaud you,but I don't have any left,sorry, best wishes.
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wonderful
this is awsome. in some places its thought provoking. but still it is truely amazing. wonderful job
flows nice,
lost -
shiver down my spine....like it lots...great words.
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excellent
An amazing piece well done.compelling reading -
Thought provoking
This too is a great write, 2 other people came to mind when I read this, Ghandi and Nelson Mandela. I know Mandela won a noble peace prize, what is totally amazing is the once outlawed 'terrorist' has become an national icon, actually more he is an international icon. Possibly one of the greatest statesmen in the world at the moment. I think South Africa will come to an absolute stand still when he dies.
Even at 88 he is still involved in the upliftment of the rural communities.
Keep up the great writing, I love reading your work,
Regards
Lisa
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