The Colors of Humanity

Manacles suppress a beautiful mind 
decayed by the stench of putrid bitterness
created long before Mr. Whitney
made you expendable

yet you loathe me
despite my relation to Harriet

uncle Tom was never relevant
nor did his cabin provide shelter
unto your bitterness
its wood burned food for thought

could one become a christian
to be born again
and return as an abolitionist
the absurdity of it astounds me

but chains will always bind us together
regardless of our ancestry

linked through the color of love
red hues splashed in anger
dipped in disdain 
tainted by the past
we live to paint
the pictures shadows cast......

Bob Shank-Nov.20th, 2006
Copyright © | Year Posted 2006

Poem

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Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace