By Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2020

First published in Academy of the Heart and Mind (March 24, 2022)

“We still have many bridges to cross.”  Former U.S. Congressman, John Lewis

Moral compass of the nation,
towering civil rights pioneer,
a small man of giant stature,
who fought injustice without fear.

Confronted with violence,
he peacefully protested;
Faced with bigotry,
he shamed with love;
Wrongfully jailed,
he championed freedom;
Scarred by segregation,
he led the freedom rider cause;
Beaten unconscious and left for dead,
he preached redemptive suffering;
Skull fractured by a State Trooper,
he forgave his attacker.

Counseled to be complacent,
he espoused righteous action;
His vote suppressed,
he championed suffrage for all citizens;
Told to acquiesce to white rule,
he led black Americans to the Promised Land as
Civil Rights legend and 17-term Congressman;
Instructed to take his place at the back of the line,
he walked side by side with
Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.
in the March on Washington,
assuming his rightful place as
one of America’s greatest and most beloved Civil Rights leaders.

May John Lewis rest in peace and dignity,
just as he led us in peace and dignity
to champion causes greater than ourselves,
re-calibrating the moral compasses of all Americans.