Pushing ahead: It's time to dream again | Rosalind Tompkins
After celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday this year and thinking of how August 2023 will be 60 years since he shared the “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington, I was struck by the many discussions by talk show hosts and others about whether his dream has been realized or not.
On the one hand we can say absolutely because of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and many other ways in which African Americans have progressed since that time. On the other hand, we can see the lack of progress in areas of equity in salaries, housing, education, etc.
This time of year always gives us a marker to pause and reassess our progress and to determine ways to keep pushing ahead towards the mark. That gives me hope because as a dreamer myself I understand that the dreams never end, and we can always dream again.
Dream Again by Rosalind Tompkins
I had a dream last night, but it didn’t last long.
In the dream I was singing a song,
About how in life things can go wrong.
But even then, there is a chance to go on.
I had a dream last night about what love looked like,
And in the dream, I thought about the plight of men and women.
Caught up in a daze, purple haze, eyes all glazed, looking half crazed,
Walking and wandering through life un-phased by all of the chaos and sin all around, looking for love in a world turned upside down.
I had a dream last night, but something had changed.
The tables had turned and inside my head burned with the awareness and knowledge that life is for living and love
is for loving and songs are for singing and in the midst of it all my alarm clock started ringing.
I arose from my bed, shook my head, and thought about the things that I had reaped, and then it dawned on me that I wasn’t really asleep.
For the first time in my life my eyes were wide opened, and I was aware and awake to the things that make life
worth living and time worth giving to the things that bring release and offer peace.
So, whether awake or asleep, dream of a life filled with songs for the soul and love that makes whole whatever is broken.
Dream of hope and joy for better days ahead.
And when you dream get out of your bed and bring to reality the things that were said.
Dream Again!
Rosalind Y. Tompkins received a doctorate of humanities degree from the Five Fold Ministry Theological University in 2012. Find out more at makeahopeconnection.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: MLK celebrations spark new round of dreams 60 years after speech
