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I Am One, I Am All

by Paul Meier
April 4, 1968.
I am there in Memphis, Tennessee;
I see it all;
The rifle raised
The great man fall.

November 22, 1963.
I am there at 12.30pm in Dallas, Texas;
I see it happen;
Every detail I vividly recall.

January 30, 1948.
I am there in Delhi, India;
I see it happen;
Again the gun;
Again the flash of light;
Again the surprise of it all.

April 14, 1865.
I am there at the theatre in Washington;
Am there when it happens;
Hear the screams;
See the curtain fall.

I am there. Each time I am there.
The innocent bystander;
The observer detached;
I am the woman who screams,
The child who cries,
The man who covers his eyes.

I am the assassin,
The man with the gun,
The betrayer, the slayer,
I am the one.

I am the pistol,
I am the rifle,
Merely the messenger,
Bringing word of the end;
Almost a friend.

I am the one whom no one saw;
I am the bullet,
So fast and so small,
Doing my job in no time at all.

I am Martin Luther King.
I am John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
I am Abraham Lincoln.
I am Mohandas K. Gandhi.

I do the giving, giving twice.
I give the wisdom, give the word,
Then give my life to make it heard.

I do the taking, taking twice.
I take the gift, given free,
Then take the giver's life for the fee.

I am One; I am all.

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Copyright © 1986 by Paul Meier. All rights reserved.