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                      1865

                      Published by Dee Allen at November 13, 2021
                      Categories
                      • Blog
                      • Poetry
                      Tags
                      • 1865
                      • freed
                      • General Granger
                      • poetry
                      black fist and rope - 1865 - poetry

                      Image by Tasha Jolley on Unsplash

                      Dee Allen

                      1865, June 19th
                      Land of the Lone Star
                      Last of the Southern states
                      Became the
                      Last to receive news of a
                      Long, bloody skirmish
                      Coming to a close.

                      Brother versus brother.
                      Blue versus grey.
                      Amerikkka versus itself.

                      Two thousand soldiers from the East
                      Brought the magic passage
                      That made Africans abandon
                      The plantation mansions,
                      Previous owners,
                      The croplands,
                      Psychological trammels,
                      Human bondage.

                      Upon hearing those words spring from
                      General Granger’s lips, 250,000 of them
                      Rejoiced.

                      The reason for
                      Parades, outdoor feasts, erection of public places,
                      Expressions of pride trace back to this moment
                      When Africans ditched their metal shackles
                      And took their first breath of freedom,
                      Moved without permission.
                      250,000 Blacks were free, granted their autonomy.
                      By law.

                      Autonomy they could’ve gotten
                      As individuals through
                      Flame, arms, revolt, or northbound travel.
                      Torches to the master’s estate.
                      Hard oak to the overseer’s head.
                      Making tracks by following the North Star.
                      Leaving before the dogs caught their scent.
                      Departure before rednekkk rifles found them.
                      There would’ve been no need to heed
                      The words of a Northern White bluecoat
                      Then—–

                      Dee Allen
                      + posts

                      Dee Allen is an African-Italian performance poet based in Oakland, California. He’s been active in creative writing and Spoken Word since the early 1990s, and the author of seven books [“Boneyard”, “Unwritten Law”, “Stormwater” and “Skeletal Black”, all from POOR Press, “Elohi Unitsi” from Conviction 2 Change Publishing and coming in February 2022, “Rusty Gallows” from Vagabond Books and “Plans” from Nomadic Press], with 42 anthology appearances under his figurative belt so far. Dee Allen applies his pen to notebook and responds to current events, long-suppressed historical events, and inscrutable human nature.

                      • Dee Allen
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                      3 Comments

                      1. MockingOwl Roost Poetry Corner: Cormorant says:
                        December 11, 2021 at 5:45 pm

                        […] 1865 […]

                        Reply
                      2. Poetry from the MockingOwl Roost: Breath Mark says:
                        January 7, 2022 at 4:07 pm

                        […] 1865 […]

                        Reply
                      3. Breath Mark: Poetry Corner at the MockingOwl Roost says:
                        November 20, 2022 at 7:58 pm

                        […] 1865 […]

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