I Ain't Black by Mark Maxey
I ain't black and no way I could be
but I grew up around a black town
Alsuma, OK where they came after the race riot in the 1920's
some 40 years later they were my neighbors...friends...and business leaders
My grandmother made me respect women
white or black...they were to be revered
they were the backbone for the family
and they were our spiritual leaders
It wasn't until junior high that my perception changed
what I was taught in school, read, or seen on television
I just could not understand
Why were they persecuted
why were they chastised
why were they made to feel in-human
I was saddened
They were human
farmers, parents, teachers, good country folks
they worked in the fields along side us
ate with us
prayed with us
and were my childhood friends
I could not understand their struggle
guess I may never...cause I am not black
but truth be told
the same blood runs in my veins as theirs
I struggle to survive in a world of chaos
fight for a fair wage
desire to own my own home
I try to follow my heart, dreams
and seek a relationship with God...which somedays come hard
just as they do...
Ain't that the same for us all?
Then why is there so much hate?
02/05/2007 Posted on 02/05/2007 Copyright © 2024 Mark Maxey
Member Comments on this Poem |
Posted by Gabriel Ricard on 02/06/07 at 05:17 AM I really like your use of voice in this. It's almost quiet, casual. You really give the piece a nice, sharp edge with it.
Great work. |
Posted by Maria Terezia Ferencz on 02/08/07 at 11:47 PM A mind, a true mind, has no color. Like yours. |
Posted by Genevieve Sturrock on 02/10/07 at 03:25 AM my best friend was a little black girl until 5th grade when we were taught about the civil rights movement...it changed our perspective and made me her enemy...i have never understood that. |
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