Seraphim of Selma
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In tribute to Representative John Lewis, a Civil Rights icon who marched in Selma with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and went on to serve seventeen terms in Congress. Lewis passed July 17, 2020, at age 80.
Three protest marches occurred in 1965 from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital in Montgomery. Nonviolent activists demonstrated the desire of African-Americans to exercise their constitutional right to vote, in defiance of segregationist repression. The marches contributed to the passage that year of the Voting Rights Act.
Spirits of the living mingle with the dead
Nightly, joining hands to march through Selma
Dr. King, their leader, the first called home
Returns to preach peace through understanding
On streets where emotions refuse to rest
Brother John’s soul, the last to depart
Forever linked to this spectral caravan
Listen and you’ll hear their songs and prayers
Rising in unison from steamy streets
Hopeful voices, Seraphim of Selma
* Posted July 19, 2020, on the passing of Civil Rights icon Congressman John Lewis.
N/A in Brian Strand's Completely New contest, judged 7/17/2020.
Copyright © Carolyn Devonshire | Year Posted 2020
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