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Human Blood, Angry And Red!

i put on my black skin
to walk through your lily white churches.
i spoke not a word...
my silent body exuded,
years of poverty and oppression,
discrimination and hunger.

i laid down my shackles
on the steps of your courthouse,
i spit blood on your law books,
human blood, angry and red!

and the woman i slept with,
walked beside me step by step.
she bore my children,
i washed her feet with awe.
we spoke and listened,
forever equals...
take down your sign,
ribs are made to barbeque!

my son fell in love
with a young painter from France...
a delicate young man,
features sharp and clear.
i spent dinners in their company,
conversation that cut darkness.
stunned, admiring... their devotion,
their love wrapped in thought.

i laid down my shackles
neath the altar in your church,
i spit blood on your holy books,
human blood, angry and red!

i turned away from your armies,
took the needle from my soul.
shook off the shudders of ignorance,
and laid down my gun.

sold all my possessions,
walked away from debt induced bondage.
stuck out my thumb,
and headed high in the hills.

i slept neath the trees,
could hear the song of the river.
whispered to the owl,
lying close to my dog.

intimately knew every star by name,
every blade of grass,
and the coolness of stone.
speak, o wind, speak and deliver!

i laid down my shackles,
in the chambers of your progress,
i spit blood on your agenda,
human blood, angry and red!

i crossed the border at midnight,
silently moving, shadows in shadows.
with nothing to lose but my life,
nothing to gain but my life.
hands eager to work,
heart eager to dream,
believing in the impossible dream,
of freedom!

i laid down my shackles,
at the foot of your Statue Of Liberty,
i spit blood on your Constitution,
human blood, angry and red!

kill me freedom!
rip the heart from my chest.
i wear your scars
on my back and my face.
bury me in equality,
let my name be every name.
rip the skin from my bones,
let my bones be the steps...

on the path to compassion,
on the road to human kindness...
let my memory be fairness,
my image be joined hands!

poem by Eric Cockrell
Added by Poetry Lover
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