A young woman boards the New York City subway and sits down beside a rider. ”Can I ask you a question?” she says. ”’Every time I ride the subway, I ask a stranger to write a poem. Would you write one?”

The rider smiles, takes pen to paper and begins composing her poem. What does she write?

You alone have the power to change the world and make it perfect, the way you always wanted it to be. You can change people or create new forms of life. You can make the world reflect your own sense of beauty, your own values and beliefs. What kind of brave new world would emerge?

Imagine you could tell the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. what he means to you and this country. What would you say to him? What impact has he had on your life and that of your family?

You are a six year-old youngster who has escaped with your mother on a boat from Cuba that has capsized somewhere off the Florida coast. You are holding on to an inner tube you shared with your mother, who was forced to let go as the waves crashed upon you both. What thoughts are going on in your head as you wait in the ocean. Will you be rescued?