they 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
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