It could be at the movies
waiting for that ticket
to some fantasy world
couple popcorn hours
away from yours.
You could be standing
basket full of fruits,
meats,
vegetables,
that cereal the kids like
list checked off
worrying how much it will be
it’s hard sometimes to see how
to make ends meet.
At the register
an old woman haggles over
the sale price melons
checkout-clerk
says “that sale ended last week”
people grow impatient
the old woman ignores them
she is hungry for melons
short on means.
Your mind thinks back
to snaking poll lines
stretched block after block
last presidential election
people hungry
for sweeter lives
more justice
more juice.
It used to be in America
Black people
were on rich white folks’
shopping lists
African maids up for sale,
field hands, sex dolls…
They say the Civil War
ended slavery
yet many are still chained
by their bigotry
these stood block after block
to vote for white privilege.
In America the Founders
wrote of freedom
pen in one hand
slave whip in the other.
So, here we are
in the 21st century
still struggling for direction.
