Figurines

Figurines Lace up your shoes Wear your black hoodie And your Timberland’s, too You’ll never know what ‘ll happen to you Or where you’ll end up On your way home Your ancestors have walked this land In shackles and in chains And labored for but one cent Their names have since been changed To rob them of their dignity And to mirror the victim hood of their becoming Bridges were built And houses were constructed Wooden pillars on the fence Guarded the territory “Girl” and “boy” were your poor grandparents called “Yes, Sir” “Yes, Master” “Yes, Ma’am” They uttered Even to the littlest of kin Did they bow their heads They survived the Middle Passage Across the Atlantic Where hundreds of others ended up dead Lynched and branded with hot compresses Labeled the” inferior”and “subordinate” race The ***** race Black blood Thicker than mud Light skinned sisters treated just as rough Black bodies mere commodity Sold and exchanged Equated to an object -property The spirit of the human being Engraved upon a figurine Their time and energy Kneaded, molded , carved Sculpted and refined As merchandise is shelved to be bought Upon the auction block they stood Black fruit hung from green trees and Black blood oozed over leaves Peculiar crop plucked at harvesting Wall Street bonds and stocks Sold and exchanged livestock Transaction complete Convincingly science supported slavery Likening blacks to beasts Reinforcing laws and customs of cruelty The forbidden instrument : the pen , the pencil The forbidden book The forbidden dreams The forbidden hope Forbidden gatherings and group ensembling Torn into shreds Toiling to the grave Children on auction blocks Mothers forcefully detached Bonds are busted open Ties are broken Flowers ravished Murderers forgiven Runaways in search of refuge Find their way back into captivity The paradox of democracy Of individual freedom and liberty and the institution of slavery Slavery, the generational curse Lincoln proposed freeing slaves to another country For blacks and whites Must not mix Cause suffering And make each other sick Whites fall ill to ***** presence and existence Blacks fall ill to the unjust treatment and submission An honorable, decorated black veteran beaten blind by the police Others shot and lynched Their patriotism deemed unwarranted, threatening and disturbing In WW II Laws forbad blacks from testifying in against whites persons in court Burnt alive, castrated and dismembered Their body parts put on storefronts , Buses firebombed Overrun by dogs hunting , public spectacles Meant to deter and turn others back The jazz and the blues Soothed their souls Expressed themselves And had attitude Every living thing is made of matter None can deny that fact Marckincia Jean Free verse 08/28/19