On Location | Landmark for Peace Memorial

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Landmark2If I was a poet, this is the place where you'd see a lovely lyric about the meaning of the Landmark for Peace, what it was like to be there and maybe even a flashback to Robert Kennedy's speech.

I am not a poet (and I probably never will be). But there was something cool about seeing the Landmark for Peace Memorial. I've been taught for years about the speech Robert Kennedy gave in Indianapolis the day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. How his speed is accredited for stopping any riots that might have occurred.

But this sculpture is more than that. A couple from Michigan was at the memorial at the same time my friend Jordan and I were there. The man couldn't look away. His wife had already walked back to the car, but he thoroughly read both signs and looked up at the two men reaching out towards each other. He seemed deep in thought, and I felt as if I was intruding.

It's when I see this picture that I get what that guy was thinking. How these two people, both important in the Civil Rights movement, reach for each other, but can't seem to touch. How, even now, their dreams are not fully realized. But how easily the space between their hands could be filled- if only.

I got to stand there with one of my best friends, who actually suggested we check out the memorial. I didn't even know it was there. But I also got to stand there with the thousands of Hoosiers who stood there before me, hearing the news that Martin Luther King was killed. They had a choice how to react, and they chose peace.

And I thought, "Surely one day, the hands can close."

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Hello Below-the-Line readers! I hope you enjoyed this post. I thought I would try a little writing exercise, taking a photograph from the past week and freewriting about it. I'm thinking of doing this more often, if it works out.

Also, if you haven't already, check out the Scribbling in the Margins' Twitter at @scribblemargins! I tweet out new posts, as well as little random tidbits throughout my day.Think of it as a little "behind the scenes."

Happy Tuesday!