Remembering Selma--March 7, 1965

Lest the years erase from our minds

The march in Selma in 1965,

Remembering that march and the struggle for rights

Will help to keep certain memories alive.

 

While crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge,

Non-violent protesters simply wanting

Equal treatment in the right to vote

Found law enforcement jeering and taunting.

 

Instead of receiving support and protection,

The marchers were greeted with anger and threats

And bashes with billy clubs and tear gas canisters.

That kind of treatment no one forgets.

 

Our heroes are those who stand up for rights--

Who face danger and possible jail.

They help lead the way for others

By forging onward and creating the trail.

 

The voting rights fought for in the past,

In many states are under attack.

Just when we manage to take steps forward,

We always take a few steps back.

 

In the past fifty years--though much has changed--

True equality for ALL still eludes us.

An all-inclusive America is one

That doesn't EX- but instead includes us.

 

If it hadn't been for the heroes of the past--

The ones who courageously paved the way--

One wonders where we would be right now.

But where are the heroes to guide us today?

(3-9-15)