Is Ferguson a turning point,
or just another burning point?
Will Staten Island’s choking gasp,
Put us on a better path?
In our zeal to protect our land,
Have we lost sight of founding fathers’ plan?
Our system must provide the means,
for have-nots to embrace the dream,
or there’ll be no reason not to stray,
to burn and pillage, make the system pay.
It’s been years since Martin King,
Taught Crosby Stills and Nash to sing,
And violence left the city streets,
And society’s sectors began to meet.
But has anything really changed?
Has any progress been obtained?
Has anything been really gained?
Or is everything still the same?
Is Ferguson a turning point,
or just another burning point?
Can Staten Island wake us up,
And help us realize promise sought?
Once those who lived below the line,
could see the path to better times.
If they did what they needed to,
They believed in time they could break through.
But somehow things changed midstream,
Blurring the promised American dream.
No longer do all men believe,
That their families can succeed.
People now feel trapped at birth,
hard built rainbows have crashed to Earth.
Blind justice means some can’t see,
A path by which to join the dream.
So tempers flare, the system frays,
on a fateful Missouri day.
But it’s not too late to understand,
freedom and success march hand in hand.
For an America down still can stand,
to reclaim the road to the promised land.
Let’s make today the turning point,
Not just another burning point.
Let Staten Island’s choking gasp,
Put us back on freedom’s path.
© 2014 under analysis LLC. Under analysis is a nationally syndicated column of the Levison Group. Charles Kramer is a principal of the St. Louis, Mo.-based law firm Riezman Berger, PC. Comments or criticisms about this column may be sent to the Levison Group in c /o this paper or direct to comments@levisongroup.com.