Tornado Seeds

Sun too bright
To speak of hate
Talking to my niece
(My brother’s daughter)
Just twelve years old
And I realize that
My father
And the brother who
Has become him
Would hate me instead
If they knew how I felt
About hate

My father has been
Gone
Since I was a boy
Not even six years old
Always an old man
Long before I came along
To sit on his knee
The arm of his chair
To hear the old auctioneer
Flow
His rare smiles
Summer nights

Too young to know
What my father told
My brother
About keeping a nigger
In his place
About how a black man
Should always say
“Mister” and “Missus”
And never call a white man
By his first name
Too young to remember
Now too old to forget

I wasn’t there when
My uncle died
(My father’s brother)
When, on his death bed
He told my brother to
Go find the house
He and my dad lived in
As Mississippi boys
In the barn, a rope, he says
They hanged a nigger with
My brother found the house
But the rope was gone

Talking to my niece
Blonde-haired blue-eyed girl
Confused and frightened
Of her daddy’s stories
About Eden
And God making men
Black and White
So they would know better
Than to mix
And I have no words
To banish what I feel
To make her unafraid

My whole life
I’ve missed the father
I never knew
Just stories from mom
My brothers
And now I know
He would be disappointed
In me
But what is worse?
That he would be disappointed
In me?
Or that I would be disappointed
In him?

• On Friday, October 3, 2008, raskal (213) wrote:
  
  heavy and poignant- an honest and emotive perspective on such a sad and sensitive issue.
  
  
• On Thursday, October 2, 2008, RubyXero (525) wrote:
  
  very sad, passionate write. racism is always hard to deal with, especially it behind elders beliefs, but not your own.
  
  
• On Thursday, October 2, 2008, disposable (161) wrote:
  
  as a non racist child of racist parents, its amazing what we tolerate for the sake of family respect. when i was younger, i said less and they said more; now that im older, i say more and they say less. family has a tight hold bu not always the tightest. i believe that if you are strong enough, youll let your experiences shape you more than the spoken laws of previous generations. awesome write. a welcome change to the site. ty
  
  
• On Thursday, October 2, 2008, Alanarchy (1483) wrote:
  
  Holy fuck. It is good to see you posting man. "...a very intricate, personal and haunting poem, with such a sense of injected human sadness that permeates on so many levels with its unanswerable questions" Couldn't have said it better myself. Write on.
  
  
• On Thursday, October 2, 2008, What Limes (118) wrote:
  
  Haunting, brother and possibly the most coherent you've shared here since Devil came to tea. As much as I enjoy your typical disjointed rhythm in your poetry, I think this is a great place to come in and be precise. It's a topic that you can't leave for open interpretation. You've written something pure. heartfelt and relevant. It was a good thing to read trapped in the computer lab here in patterson. I hope all is well in your realm and hope to see you sooner than later... MAHALO!
  
  
• On Thursday, October 2, 2008, Sketso (730) wrote:
  
  I echo ZW's words, very personal, VERY haunting, yet EXTREMELY insightful to how prejudice is passed on as the proper order of things... the title aptly fits the "seeds" of a belief, based on twisted truths and spun so powerfully that even a tornado might not compare to the destruction caused. Bravo to you on your candor, both in life and this work.
  
  
• On Thursday, October 2, 2008, Sketso (730) wrote:
  
  to clarify - *as IF IT WERE the proper order of things.
  
  
• On Thursday, October 2, 2008, The Zebra Warrior (2209) wrote:
  
  you've penned a very intricate, personal and haunting poem, with such a sense of injected human sadness that permeates on so many levels with its unanswerable questions...excellently written though