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