When I’m Holding Anthony’s Hand

It has been a struggle,

The conflict of being different from one another,

The issue of accepting one another,

Coexisting in this world.

The issue has sparked and burned;

Protests, laws, assassinations, wars.

Its ashes are the enslavement of entire nations,

The genocide of entire religious groups,

And the entire world at war

Twice.

Some have tried to solve it…

With complicated acts of violence,

Which led to hate and death and war,

That only bred more hate and death and war.

My friend Anthony is different from me.

He is coca velvet;

I am olive silk.

We come from different backgrounds,

Different places,

And yes, different races.

But we have the same dreams.

Our friendship is strong and beautiful

In an iridescent way.

While the harsh world beckons us to see only in black and white,

We see the rainbow.

We see human beings,

And it is far more beautiful that way.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream,

A dream that peace could alter the landscape of America

And alter the view of the world.

Dr. King dreams,

A nation awakes.

And takes its first steps to a better world.

With all of the violence,

And all of the hate,

And all of the wars still going on today.

And on and on.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr,

Mother Teresa,

Gandhi,

And all the dreamers’ dreams-

Will the dreams ever live?

But

When I’m holding Anthony’s hand

And I look down and see

Light fingers intertwined in dark fingers,

And I notice how beautiful they look together,

I can’t help but think that all the violence

And the hatred

And the wars

Could be solved so easily.

It’s as simple as just reaching out

And holding his hand.

When we all hold hands and dream together

In Technicolor

Peace and love and equality will heal us all

And the dreamer’s dreams will live.