Stone of Hope, 2011

by Betsy Ashton

Betsy Ashton, born in Washington, DC, was raised in Southern California where she ran wild with coyotes in the hills above Malibu. She protested the war in Vietnam, burned her bra for feminism, and is a steadfast Independent. She is a writer, a thinker, the mother of three grown stepchildren, companion and friend. She mentors writers and writes and publishes fiction. Her first mystery, Mad Max Unintended Consequences, was published in February 2013. The second in the series, Uncharted Territory, A Mad Max Mystery, came out in April 2015. In her spare time, she is the president of the state-wide Virginia Writers Club. She loves riding behind her husband on his motorcycle. You’ll have to decide for yourself if and where she has a tattoo.

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5 Comments(s)

January 18, 2016

Originally published on Roses of Prose blog.

I have refrained from posting political messages here, so I hope you allow this one. I was lucky to draw the Martin Luther King weekend for my first 2016 post. I wrote this poem in 2011, have read it on NPR and at many local forums. I want to share it with all the Roses and our readers.

STONE OF HOPE, 2011

Granite statue gazes outward,

seeks proof the dream

continues

I have a dream

looks for footprints

on the path to freedom

that one day on the red hills of Georgia

laments ridicule of a president

with the audacity to dream

the sons of former slaves

sees a country

broken by religious hatred

and the sons of former slave owners

hears uncivil discord not

peaceful civil disobedience

will be able to sit down together

wonders what happened

to embracing differences

at the table of brotherhood.

abandons hope of government

for all people.

I had a dream.

Granite statue gazes outward and weeps.

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5 Comments

  1. patricia robertson
    patricia robertson on January 18, 2016 at 11:33 am

    William Faulkner said that poetry is the highest and most difficult form of writing. I can’t do it. This is lovely, Betsy. Thank you

    • betsyashton
      betsyashton on January 18, 2016 at 2:54 pm

      It struck me that MLK would be proud and sad with the Obama presidency.

  2. bicted
    bicted on January 18, 2016 at 3:05 pm

    Beautiful!

    • betsyashton
      betsyashton on January 18, 2016 at 3:06 pm

      Thanks so much. I’m not a poet, but Dr. King calls to me all the time to try and capture an image or one of his teachings. Thanks for the support.

  3. Melly
    Melly on July 22, 2016 at 11:01 am

    Grande vitoria de Cancellara, quando se deixa o melhor coettarnlogisra do mundo ganhar uma duzia de segundos nunca mais la chegam.Para a semana a mais, os pretagonistas e que ja serao outros.