New poet and graduate Charles Childers paid tribute to civil rights leader John R. Lewis, who paid tribute to Lewis at the high school’s dedication ceremony. Photo by Susan Laume / The Connection
Charles Childers, a senior, attended a creative writing class earlier this year and was inspired by initiatory poet Amanda Gorman to pay tribute to John R. Lewis. His dramatic reading of his book “And now we honor him” led to the special honors of his fellow students. Childers also wrote “When We Aspire,” which is included in the program of the ceremony. Childers will be attending James Madison University this fall to study Earth Sciences.
And now we honor him.
By Charles Childers
And now we honor him,
Because his arms were in chains
He marched in the rain
He suffered from the pain
In order to proclaim, we choose not to abstain
our dictations,
Yet to remove the pressures that are tainting our nation.
And now we Honor him
Because his victim
End nights of peaceful fighting
For equality he set his goal
Be bigger, reach new heights
A mediator of black, brown and white
And now we honor him.
Because he exceeded expectations
And in the house he led this nation
With assertions that our expectation
Should be acclimatization and cooperation,
Not a culmination of defamation
What comes from the times of segregation.
And now we honor him
Because even after passing it on,
With every day and every dawn
We keep fighting for the right thing
not correct,
And remember the nation we walk on.
Has been shaped by people who haven’t been there for a long time.
And then when it sinks to rubble
Hope reigns and prosperity doubles
So have hope and remember to jump in
good effort.
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