Living In The Past Poem by Jesse Pickens

The Emancipation Proclamation was put into effect in 1863,
That meant freedom for slaves,
the ones who looked like me,
blood, sweat, and bullets were shed along with tears,
innocent civilians put through years of hell and fed with fears,
nooses invaded necks,
in the home of the brave,
in the home of the slaves,
blood flowing as they gaze,
lynchings were congregational,
often invitational,
white kids were taught to look at them as merely educational,
he's just another tally in the stat book,
slaves screaming until exhaustion as they were made to look,
saliva often found homes on the pits of our face,
jeopardizing our case,
exasperating our race,
if you had children they often vanished without a trace,
we were taught not to embrace each other in any way,
I know the only way we made it out is the good Lord's grace..