I can feel the crack
When you clutch your purse a little tighter
I can feel the crack
In your too-long stare
I can feel the crack
When you won't pronounce my name
I can feel the crack
When our most hallowed spaces have stairs built on the backs of my forbears
I can feel the crack
When someone suggests that racism is over
I can feel the crack
When our best presidential choice
Is tough on crime
(meaning more of the present one-third of us will go to jail)
I can feel the crack
When you tell me that there are black people and n*ggers
I can feel the crack
When you ask to touch my hair
I can feel the crack
When I pass signs for the plantation tour
I can feel the crack
When your face is red and teeth are bare
Burbling after the slightest slight
I can feel the crack
When you wear confederate flag swimmin shorts
I can feel the crack
When any group doing any thing
Are thugs
I can feel the crack
When the news is blind
I can feel the crack
As I wage battle against generational trauma
I can feel the crack
In the despairing head-shake of my brothers and sisters
© 2024 by Charles D. Alexander
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