The image above is a painting by Larry Poncho Brown titled “Every Round Goes Higher”.
One
Suppose there was no blood curdling cry
that arose seas away
to challenge your society
in the darkest of forms
and shatter your naive perceptions of
reality.
Suppose there were no more chains
whether literal or metaphorical
clanging like red splatter on a white dress
that hang on the feet of children
who are only conscious
of their breath
their hunger
their belly piercing pain.
Suppose that slavery really ended
all over the world.
Tell me then,
just how many smiles
how many diaphragm ripping
laughs
would set fire to the darkness of history.
Two
But perhaps…
There had been a triumph.
A showering rain
despite the despondent drought.
That even faced with
separation
violence
and the spillage of
innocent blood
the mother and her
remaining children
have somehow
survived.
Perhaps…
That in the dehumanization of the
black man
there still remain a new generation
of kings.
That even in the face of generational
cold,
that while enduring
the repercussions
of 400 years of
bloodshed
There is still fire
in the eyes of the children,
there is still fire
still.
©2017 Afroetry Works
