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Hernando Today

Poem Penned To Honor Fulfillment Of King's Dream

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: January 19, 2009

SPRING HILL - When Barack Obama took the first steps toward becoming president, Luis Rivera didn't trust him.
The upstart senator from Illinois didn't have the background or political pedigree as his first choice, Hillary Clinton. But Rivera's opinion began to change over time as Obama shared his vision for America through countless rallies and forums.
Obama's eloquence and Harvard background impressed Rivera. But it was echoes from Rivera's past that proved the deciding factor.
On Nov. 5, with the TV still replaying moments from the historic night before, Rivera sat down at the counter of his sandwich shop and expressed his thoughts as he's always done — he wrote a poem.
Not just any poem, but a bridge between his past and America's future.
"We needed a change," Rivera said Friday from his solitary post at Louie's Gyros and Cuban Sandwiches Plus in the former Outlet Mall on U.S. 19.
Rivera, who looks much younger than his 74 years, dates his passion for words back to his childhood in Yauco, Puerto Rico. He left his native roots at age 17 for "bigger and better things," as he puts it, in Homestead, Fla.
After a couple of months there, he set out for New York City, where he met his wife, Josefina. The young couple returned to Puerto Rico for a spell, before setting up a life again in the Big Apple.
Rivera retained his passion for words, but writing poems rarely puts food on the table. To support his family, Rivera drove taxis and worked factory jobs. Times were tough: The couple barely made $15 a week between them. Their apartment was tiny.
"But we were content," Rivera said.
Besides, there were bigger issues at hand. The 1960s were turbulent times and Rivera waded into the thick of the Civil Rights movement. He attended rallies and marches on the capitol and, even with three children to clothe and feed, donated what money he could.
For Rivera, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. represented the hope that everyone that could fulfill their dreams, regardless of their color.
Rivera tried to fulfill his dreams, working at various commercial ventures while writing poems and songs on the side. His creative side flourished when he partnered with the late Puerto Rican superstar Bobby Capo.
He moved to Spring Hill and opened several Latino-themed restaurants before operating his current sandwich shop.
As Obama made his rise to the national stage, Rivera set aside his initial misgivings and came to realize this was the pinnacle of all he worked for in the Civil Rights movement.
This is what Dr. King would have wanted.
"The man had a dream. It's a tragedy he could not see it fulfilled," Rivera said.

The Poem:

This is the story of Martin Luther King
He came from Atlanta and this man had a dream,
A dream he knew some day solemnly would be fulfilled.
He marched from Alabama to the hills of Tennessee,
He struggled for his people facing his destiny.
Not knowing that some day perhaps he would be killed,
But never giving up of that amazing dream.
Until some day equality of human race prevailed,
When the man Barack Obama an African descend,
Would be elected President of The United States!
God Bless that man and his dream.
God Bless America and Bless Martin Luther King.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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