Poetry Challenge: Honor Martin Luther King Jr By Describing How You Dream A World
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BY RACHEL MARTIN
When Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech 58 years ago, he changed the course of history with his aspiration.
The metaphors, political overtones and themes King employed were inspired by Langston Hughes’ poem “I Dream A World:”
I dream a world where man
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth
And peace its paths adorn
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom’s way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth
And every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Attends the needs of all mankind-
Of such I dream, my world!
In the poem, there’s hope in the chaos, and it attends to the needs of all of us. There are so many parallels between “I Dream A World” and King’s speech: talk of dreams, freedom, equality.
Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the crowd at the March On Washington D.C., on Aug. 28, 1963. CREDIT: CNP/Getty Images
So as we enter 2021, we can all draw inspiration from both King and Hughes. Morning Edition resident poet Kwame Alexander and host Rachel Martin suggest we write our way out of the unprecedented events of the past year and into a space of possibility.
Write a poem that, like Hughes did, begins with the line: “I dream a world” and describe the change you hope for.
Your poem can rhyme like Hughes’ poem, but it doesn’t have to. It just has to dream us out of tribulation.
Share your poem through the form below, then Alexander will take lines from some of your pieces and create a community crowdsourced poem. Alexander and Martin will read it on air, and NPR will publish it online, where contributors will be credited.
Here are the terms of the callout:
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