Petulas touch
A story I came across recently. Hail to Petula Clark….
Petula’s Touch
She was a singer of some renown
Downtown and My love was her popular sound
And on 2 April 1968 she was still top
Renown in the world as an actress she had the lot
Harry Belafonte was a black singer and actor
When appearing with white women it a was a factor
That white and black were to stay separate
He appeared on television with Petula as a singing date
They sang the song “The Paths of Glory”
An anti war song a sign of the times in the story
During the song she touched him on the arm
And to the American audience it caused alarm
The director of the show wanted a retake
But Petula refused wanting to stand on her fate
It screened in America with the gesture
With the sponsor Chrysler not pleased at this juncture
The alarm spread with a racial slur
How dare this happen on television such a stir
Harry called it out for what it was
Prejudicial in the extreme against the civil rights cause
To this day Petula Clark wonders why the rumpus
For such a small gesture that helped the civil rights compass
But the world knows how important it became
A woman of substance demonstrated courage in the civil rights game.
© Paul Warren Poetry
Copyright © Paul Warren | Year Posted 2025
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment