LORRAINE TAYLOR

ONE MILLION BLACK MEN










I woke up this morning to a beautiful sky
The streets absent of men, the sun in my eyes
To Washington, DC these great men trod
Their feet barely touching your blood-soaked sod
A wonderful sight, one million Black men

In masses they came, by bus, train or plane
A day of atonement, not fortune or fame
Inch by inch and mile by mile
Their backs ramrod stiff, not cracking a smile
A glorious sight, one million Black men

From slave ships to your land, for Douglas and Tubman
From the whip and the lash to their blood on your sands
Their bodies so beaten, their spirits not weakened
Oh God I do love you, one million Black men

For Malcolm and Martin we cannot ignore
Your refusal to see them we truly abhor
You stole them away from our God and themselves
In this strange land they suffer and dwell
Oh how you have cried, one million Black men.

From Harlem to Nam, tenements to rice paddies
My husband he died there, my son has no daddy
Your welfare you dangle to tempt and to tease me
I must tell my son he’s an endangered species
Oh yes I do love you, one million Black men.

We’ve somehow lost hope, the hunters and hunted
Oh why oh why Lord is this world torn asunder
But still my eyes glisten with dignity and pride
As I gaze upon men with such purposeful stride
The heart of my heart, one million Black men

America you wanted a land of the free
But you just didn’t tell us you didn’t mean me.
The powers that be in your smoke-filled rooms
Apocalypse now, your doom and your gloom
And God if you’re listening to this my short story
Deliver to glory one million Black men.

© 2010 Lorraine Taylor

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