Burden Of The Black Man

Brought in bonds to foreign shores,
The pride of Africa was enslaved
Unjustly for white man's work,
The burden of the black man
Priced at three fifths,
Sold as property bearing
Values less than human.

The beat down of suffering
Does not dignify bigotry
Anymore than the whip,
The noose or the brass jacket
Inspires civil obedience
Slavery is a yoke
Fitted in many forms for denial.

The song in the field
And the rap from the hood
Do not sound off
Merely as solos of suffering.
In the houses of God
The cries of the heart
Reach up to Heaven for justice!

Politicians profess lies as truth
The poetry of the black man
Recites the literature of conscience!
A downcast soul for ages,
He rises from captivity,
Sweating three times more
Just to achieve equality!

Liberty is more than an idea
It is existence and action allowed
Its full and equal measure
Opposes and exposes
The bane of an open field
Forbidding things to grow
In the land of tyranny!

When no one is allowed
Atmosphere to rise above
The gravity of getting gun downed
Lowers the legacy of a life of liberty.
The burden of the black man
Carries the conscience of freedom denied
And complete equality unpaid.

Copyright © 2016 Charles Edward York