That helping hand
Black affluence ... Black homeowners ...
Black-owned banks ... Black Wall Street —
A 19-year-old Black man stumbles,
Reaches for the hand of a White woman.
It's March 1921 — touching her hand
Was enough for leaders to call for
A lynching. It unleashed angry White mobs.
The next day, the sun rises over Greenwood,
All rubble, devastation where dreams stood.
Touching one hand justifies killing,
Bombing, destroying the American Dream.
Prosperity turned into the faintest of hope
For Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,
That helping hand is a myth.
Thinly dipped dark
chocolate superheroes
Sometimes, I wish I had this superhero
ability to read a poem in a meeting
That has a positive effect on other attendees, but …
That means I wish I had this superhero ability to write a poem for others, but …
Did I experience life to groom the superhero in me?
I got up out of my chair, stretched out my arms,
and spun three times,
then sat and wrote in a notebook.
Right now, I read you that poem.
It’s true, I have no superhero ability.
At least no one reacted to what I read.
Society is waiting for a
superhero.
Regular people can only change little things.
We want someone to save our society.
But can a superhero end the war
in Ukraine (2022)?
Can a superhero stop global warming?
Is there a superhero who dispels hate?
I’ve never seen a superhero, a world savior,
an environmental magician,
a poverty/hunger philanthropist/humanitarian.
Maybe
we don’t need a historic superhero?
Or maybe
life never depended on super special folks?
And maybe
the human spirit needs to rise on its own?
What do you think?
