(I had the pleasure of speaking at Dedham Middle School’s MLK event on February 26th 2019. I was filled with hope and love by this gathering and show of community. Great thing can happen when we all come together peacefully. This is what I shared with my community and would like to share it here as well.)
~Peace, jummyjeenz Deana J. Tavares
What if Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t have a dream? What would our country look
like today if he decided that change was to stressful, too difficult, too much work?
What would our classrooms look like? Our public transportation? Our Congress?
I want to talk a bit about change, hope, and dreams, because these three friends are
always working in conjunction together. When individuals can dream and dream
big
they can create change within our world. These changes then fill others with hope. That
hope then encourages us all to keep dreaming. When we see someone’s dream actualized
we then begin to believe that ours is also possible. Change is possible.
So I ask you all to encourage the dreamers within your lives to continue dreaming
because quite often those dreams include us all and make an attempt at navigating a
better course for our world as a whole.
And to the dreamers:
I ask that you think about how very fortunate you are to still be able to dream, create
change, and spread hope because there are still many individuals around the world who
do not have this privilege. Use it wisely.
When the fire of those dreams is quenched then hope and the possibility of change is as
well. So I challenge you all within these trying times to keep dreaming, and include
others within those dreams. Dreams can bring communities together. Dreams can shine
a light into any darkness. Dreams can effect change.
What Is A Dream?
Deana J. Tavares
That pebble
Within the water
That ripples
Across oceans
Of change
Within the eyes
Of our teenagers
And elders
Those stars
That remain
Tiny seeds of peace
Sewn into
The fabric
Of all hearts
Not the finish line
But the exact point
From where the journey starts
The pollination
Of young minds
With compassionate
Thoughts
No talks
About war
Because there are none
Being fought
The trajectory of lives
Crashing into understanding
One small step
For womankind
Our humankind
Moon landing
The yellow wings of hope
Flying over blues
And reds
Blending them to purple
Love
That slowly
Creeps in
Wins the race
That slow patient
Turtle
A breathe
Blown back into the lungs
Of a defeated nation
Collective empowerment
For future
Generations
The one
Who stands alone
Like a Redwood tree
Becoming
Part of the forest
Of community
A voice
Once muffled
Suddenly
Heard
The answers
Within vowels
Syllables
Of words
The bright eyed child
Who knows
Their worth
That little girl
With red ribbons
Equal at birth
That door
Left open
So others
Can walk
Through
The kindness
Inside me
That lives inside you too
A voice
That slices through
For the voiceless
LOUD
Human beings
With a rainbow
Of faces
Holding their heads up
PROUD
© 2019
We live within a nation of dreamers and we dream because we can.
Because our streets are still safe enough to allow our minds to wander.
So keep dreaming through the hatred, keep dreaming through the
injustice, keep dreaming through the fear.
We can work together and continue to hope, dream, and create change!
Alone I am but one tree, but together we are a forest.
MLK once said: “We may have all come in on different ships, but we’re in
the same boat now”
Dedham Martin Luther King Remembrance:
Covered by Dot Walsh and Dan Hallisey Of Dedham TV
jummyjeenz 