Mississippi Teacher Poem by Barry Middleton

I remember the forgotten ones
alone beneath the stars
on a frosty Mississippi morning

the unprotected multitude
were abandoned by hope and care
no paternal spirit guarded them

they waved at their white teacher
as I passed on the way to school
as if I bore a sacred covenant

the sharecropper shacks were gray
cotton fields in the back yard
and peas and collards for supper

not one in a hundred was lifted up
but held within a legacy of death
monstrous poverty and bigotry

oh yes I ran away as far as I could
but I have not forgotten them
and they say it's different now

they say there is hope for America
but all I can see is fear
and my hands are old and helpless