The American Dream

Send us your huddled masses yearning to be free.

 Free at last, free at Last; thank God almighty we are free at least. But don't stop there. Teach your children well. . . that parents' hell will slowly go by. Make the best with what you've got. Do the best you can. We didn't start the fire, y'all; but we did declare that all men are created equal, and entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our soldiers have shed blood, sweat and tears. . . even their very lives, in perpetuation of these principles. I mean, we didn't start the fire, but we enkindled the flame of liberty in a venue and a strategy unprecedented in world history. We come on a ship they call Mayflower. We even put a man on the moon, in pursuit of that previously unreachable goal. You may think this is stream of consciousness; it is; we started with row, row your boat gently down the stream. . . but we find, along the way. . . All my trials, Lord, eventually be over; we work together, to get us to a place we never been before, a destiny, a God-ordained destiny that began long ago when Abraham left the land of the Chaldees, and then later. . . as the beat goes on, and the ancient story is told. . . like when Moses told Pharoah, Let my people go; then later much later. . .when the founders broke the cord, ignited it with the flame of freedom, the life-line of liberty. Then as times were a'changing, we built a raiload; once we built a tower way up to the sun. . .it takes Time, y'know, but who knows where the time goes?. . .I mean, the times were always a'changin'. Don't forget: Long story short. . .We come on a ship called Mayflower; we come on a ship that sailed the moon. Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country. But whatever happens, we gotta carry on; love is coming for us all. Young man, take a look at my life; I;m a lot like you. You know I keep thinking 'bout making my way back, whatevah! . . . Just row, row, row your boat gently down the stream; keep it going, never give up and all will go well with you. We are, ever and ever, embarking on the threshold of a dream, almost seen.Every now and then we catch a glimpse of it, as when Dr. King said, back in the day. . . I have a dream. . . then moving right along. . ..Merrily, merrily, verily, gently down the stream. . . stream, stream, stream of consciousness. "I was born by the river, in a little tent. . . and just like the river, I been running, ever since. It's been a long time coming, but I know, change is gonna come." I mean, that's what bro' Sam Cooke had prophecied, back in the day. But going back even further that that . . .Jesus said be ready, for you know not the hour that I come for you, 'cuz The ball is falling on Times Square; the sun is going down every day; but the sun also rises. . .brightening, day by day, the American dream. . . or bust! even so, In God we trust, 'cuz We shall overcome; deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome someday! "How many years did some people exist before they were allowed to be free?" With that precedent in the rear view mirror, and In the wake of Abraham, Martin and John, we must not fail to go on, and on. . . and on, because the Underground Railroad still rides, y'all. Get on board! Don't get stuck in the mud of confusion or the fever of magamania.   King of Soul