Saturday, March 03, 2007

NEW COTTON






The texture is fluffy soft to touch
sometimes coarse and stiff.

The field is wide and endless
covering miles and miles.
City block after city block
Burlaps sacks are gone
The cotton is harvested
in cars with blue lights on top

Bales are no longer used for measurement
Instead the bails are money
not often had.

The barn has been
replaced with bars and keys
electronic gates.

The texture is fluffy soft to touch
sometimes coarse and stiff.
Only this cotton is alive
and this cotton is black
brown and carmel
this cotton is we/me.

We are the new cotton
held in the prison industrial complex.
And the birds up in the sky I know
how you feel.

No comments: