It was John's Time

photo illustration by Stu Johnson

John Lewis was a boxing great.
That no one can dispute.
But he is not the one I'm thinking of.
The one I mean (who's in the news)
knew how to fight as well.
He fought for justice, equal rights and love.

The "boy from Troy" put up his dukes
and danced around the ring.
He looked for opportunities to punch.
Through peaceful protests, freedom rides
and trouble he called good,
he fought to have a Woolworth counter lunch.

The "conscious of our Congress" was
quite short, but stood quite tall.
He kept alive the dream of MLK.
John Lewis was a testament
to what his mentor taught
and called his colleagues to a better way.

And then last week it was John's time
to cross that famous bridge.
A bridge that spans the gap of life and death.
And as he crossed, we recognized
the legacy he leaves
that's punctuated by one final breath.

Peace to his memory!

The photo illustration portrays John Lewis in life against his casket being carried across the bridge in Selma, Alabama referenced in Greg's poem—a bridge so symbolic in Lewis' fight for civil rights that some would like to have it renamed in his honor.