THERE IS MORE THAN THIS LIFE, PART 3

MLK 3-1 [bleached]

MLK 3-22 [painted flames]

MLK 3-32 [solarized]

MLK 3-2 [light mottled]

MLK 3-11 [orange crush]

I have oh-so-liberally borrowed from MLK in my own work... have——on a gloomy day in the Tenderloin——wandered down to the Yerba Buena and read his words on the wall... have had mind blown by the book An Act of State [add to your reading list if you are inspired by MLK, or google for the video or synopsis]...  When he gave the renowned Mountaintop speech, he knew his number was up——

"Longevity has its place.... but I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will...."  His regular all-Black security had been replaced by an all-white cadre of thugs...  "I may not get there with you...."  He was assigned to an exposed balcony motel room instead of the ground floor. "...but we as a people will get to the Promised Land!"  He noticed that all the brush and foliage had been cleared as to not obstruct a sniper's crosshairs.


Still he delivered his speech.  He did not incite violence.  He implored people to speak.  "Silence is betrayal..."  Most people remember him for having a dream.  I remember the reality of what he stood for——while confronted with the cruelest aspects of the Machine, run by the Man——looking at his martyrdom point blank, perhaps recapitulating his life and still serving, still loving, from the mountaintop.

I keep climbing.  I keep climbing.