mississippi by Emily G Myersthey just needed a good reason to
exploit or explode
incite or enslave
oppress or suppress
a dark-skinned child
for no reason at all in
m-i-crookedletter-i-crookedcops-i-p-p-i
drunken men,no,notmen,boys
still trapped in the past
burningbushes
burningwitches
burningcrosses
loving exclusively
the white foamy beer sloshing into his glass
& white
whitehoodswhiterobeswhiteskin
& white girls who taste spicy from cigarettes
& destruction
destruction of liveshomesfamilies
deep in the woods
in the cabin their great-great-grandfathers built
they plan the demise
of a life
why?
don't you know why the
m-i-crookedletter-i-crookedlawyers-i-p-p-i river
looks so muddy? 10/04/2003 Author's Note: I'm reading A Time to Kill by John Grisham and Fredrick Douglass' Narratives. the idea of mississippi definitely comes from the Grisham book. the rest could apply almost anywhere, especially in the South. the first line of this poem that came to me was the line about girls tasting spicy from cigarettes. the line just stayed with me for a while until I could put it into context. this poem was written as most of my older poetry was - extremely fast and not well thought-out. unfortunately, that might come through a bit... though what truly mattered to me about the poem was the message, not really the organization.
Posted on 10/05/2003 Copyright © 2025 Emily G Myers
Member Comments on this Poem |
Posted by Cathlyn Cartier on 10/05/03 at 03:39 PM This reminds me of my own trip to Mississippi, to research some Civil War myths in a certain region. Even in the '90's the evidence of racism and bigotry were appalling.... I'm from the South, so I've been exposed to it all of my life, but it sickened me to witness what I did there. |
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