AMBIGUITY OVER THE CONFEDERATE FLAG

In the old south
we would sit on the veranda

life was full of work
from sunup to sundown

look out over the horizon at

nothing but fields of cotton

the young
who happily played behind

children
tried to pick their own weight

while their mothers
sang rapturous spirituals

by age 13 filled 500 lb sacks
and lived the blues

those were good ol’ days
not having to use the whip
was more civilized

for plantation owners
sharecropping and extending debt
was almost more profitable

than slavery