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By Carolyn Marie Rodgers

         i wrote of dawn as the new beginning on earth.
tonight, we see the dawn, as we never have before.
the light that shines and leads our paths is now
more real than it has ever been.
         our shared blood, our mutual love,
this land, this soil,
these ties and bonds have finally come
         together to form the nation knot.


         we have come this way through sojourners
and truths. through martyrs and other mighty
path finders.
         Oh, what a mighty long way we have come!
A mighty, mighty long way!


Notes:

Unpublished poem dated November 4, 2008. Reproduced with permission of Nina Rodgers Gordon.

This poem is part of the portfolio “Carolyn Marie Rodgers: What Beauty We Now Have” from the October 2022 issue.

Source: Poetry (September 2022)

Poet Bio

Carolyn Marie Rodgers
Carolyn M. Rodgers grew up on Chicago’s South Side. She attended Roosevelt University and the University of Chicago. She founded Third World Press in 1967 with Haki Madhubuti, Johari Amini, and Roschell Rich, and then began Eden Press with a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. Rodgers has worked as a social worker through the YMCA and taught at various colleges. Her poetry addresses feminist issues, including the role of black women in society, though her work has evolved from a militant stance to one more focused on the individual and Christianity. See More By This Poet
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