Coretta Remembered (2006)

From CNN files

Coretta Remembered
For those of us born after the civil rights movement

We see her face through his eyes
More than a black Madonna
She is our David
Dancing before the eyes of God
Protector of memory and legacy
grace and gustiness
the keeper of our deeply rooted dream
carried so lovingly, long after it was
popular
Or memorable

We see her face through his eyes
A woman of untold sacrifice
Clothed in benevolence
She offered a seat at the
A simple meal
For an divided American soul --
Such a heavy price to pay for a meal between friends

But she bore it, with an iron will.

We see her face through his eyes
More that a conqueror,
Her sweet spirit rushes through new ears in
Birmingham, Harlem, Bombay, Capetown
No longer singing ‘bout freedom
But the yearning is deep
You can hear it
In the music
The strings, the bass, the guitar, and the drums
Synthesized into one voice
She is the mother of a generation in the lineage of a love
They do not recognize by name
But know by heart

This heartbeat of a woman warrior
sounds like a million men walking
A thousand tongues talking
Seven continents praying in every language for one hope

We see her face through his eyes
As a nation travels down the other side of the mountain
Into lush valleys
Filled with thorny pasts, and troubled rivers
Where we lost our mother

I know we will find her again
This is the woman who planted lilies in the wilderness
and watch miracle grow
But today,
we breathe
and pause.

Then, as Israel did so tenderly for Moses in the Exodus
We carry her with us
We carry her with us.
We carry this woman with us
A common woman
The uncommon hope of a King