"Black Cat on a White Fence"

"Black Cat on a White Fence"

Days full of deadly night terrors.
Coal colored skin in a Delta basin.
Only one kinda white to share.
Holy cotton boil tears skin bare.

Blood stained, soul drained,
blazing heat, little to drink.
Always a whip, make ya dance.
Taking a break, deadly chance.

Wanda live? Remember this.
Keep thee safe, a bowed head,
Stare at feet, always pain to dread.
Red black blood, fertile dirt bed.

Nowhere to hide, color calls out.
Like a black dot on a white dice.
In an open field, a cotton sea.
Ebony sweat shines in a bowl of rice.

Those were the days, gone with the wind.
History tells the story, shades of skin.
White planters mourn a "great cause".
Slaves freed or struck down, property loss.

In the year 2021, America, land of disparity.
Rich, powerful white men, golden coins on hold.
Women struggle to feed children, proudly take charity.
"Change is slow", in 1962, an angry MLK was told.

Wonder what those great humanitarians
would say to this crazy world of hate?
News is about Dr. Suess, children’s toys.
while a pandemic takes lives, hope, and fate.

A little black cat, sits alone,
watching all folks on a tall white gate.
And the people pray.

By Kathie Stehr
March 3, 2021
31 lines