Despite 1 8 6 5...[ Then/Now ] Poem by Frank James Ryan Jr...fjr

T H E N
________
...in the beginning,
when significance
upheld its worth
and passed torch
to pertinence,
vouchsafing they
who laid down their souls
in cotton fields,
leaves hung on stems,
hot and bloody sharp
as rusted steel knives,
pricking and piercing,
the sweating paled flesh,
the pulse twitching nerves
of subluxed spines,
over again,
and over again -
over and over again
for water and cornbread.


N O W...
___________
...so out of control
this system of hate,
this powerless feeling,
a violation of soul,
a rape of the heart -
death to the spirit
of every victim,
while ''Paralysis'',
the fore-fatered Emperor
of Prejudice-
stares mockingly south
with myopic eyes;
judging flesh value
by color and culture,
and on it goes,
this social anathema
perhaps 'til it no longer matters,
or until the heavens open,
rears its brightly gold seals,
and 'paralysis', is crucified
on an upside-down cross,
[not blasphemous]
for any other way would be.
And, then, just ahead,
for our eyes to marvel
will be renaissance,
like a nautical beacon
rendering unto us
with much significance -
a new beginning,
a second chance
for all of us...
who have earned it.


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Frank James Ryan Jr. / FjR