Kansas City Parks & Recreation: A Place Fit For A King

Press release from the Kansas City Parks & Recreation Department:

March 18, 2021

Local poet and Executive Director of the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, Glenn North, kicked-off the groundbreaking for the 15 and the Mahomies Playground at Martin Luther King, Jr. Square Park with this original poem.

Beautiful words stir my heart. I will recite a lovely poem about the king,for my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet.– Psalm 45:1 NLT

In honor of a King we christen this space –

And just as he used love to absorb hatredwe boldly proclaim this land as sacred.

Don’t you feel the sweep of justiceblowing in the wind;the sweet fragrance of freedomcoming around the bend?

We implore the Creator to dispatchan army of angels to keep the childrenwho will play here protected.

May racism in all its manifestations forever be rejected.

May the grass stay greenand the creek never flood.

We pray this space bulletproof –free from spilled blood.

This cathedral under the clouds,this classroom beneath the stars,this fertile garden of dreams,this sanctuary for the healingof generational scars –

where the hope of our youth can flourish,where future leaders and heroeswill continually be nourished,where courage is served upas a daily supplement,because you cannot ride a person’s backunless it’s already bent.

This haven built to harnessthe legacy of Dr. King ought to be a placethat blooms every spring…

with the fruit of justice andcascading fields of loveand rolling hills of liberty,a consecrated corner of earthwhere no one is ever judgedby the color of their skin,but by the content of their character.

May the sacrifice of our ancestorssaturate our memories likewarm rains seeping into the soil.

May we remain loyal to the little boysand little girls ten thousand suns from now,looking back on the history we are creating –

May our efforts make them proud.

Embrace hope all ye who enter herefor we know that perfect love casteth out all fear. 

May we all live lives that will honorhis noble legacy…

May we never forgetthe price he paid in his attemptto set us free. 

By Glenn North

This press release was produced by the Kansas City Parks & Recreation Department. The views expressed here are the author’s own.