Tristan Robert Lange

woke to the broke

the first day of eighteen sixty-three.

a proclamation that all slaves of rebel states

shall be declared henceforth free.

oh shucks. oh me, oh my,

what can be said, but golly gee,

it took a little while...what’s two years

to arrive and give you reason for cheers?

but smiles, silly crocodiles...you’re alive

and can finally say you’re free on this

nineteenth day of June, eighteen sixty-five.

but, if our arrival seems contrived,

wait until we go to concede

the horror you faced while alive.

then we will name it a holiday—

yet racism is here to stay—

while complaining about those woke

over how morally broke

we truly are.

First published on tristanrobertlange.com, June 19, 2026.

Tittu