R Parks
Civil rights poem
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The front door open and I stepped in
dropped my coins in the box as I always did.
That big man behind the wheel
jerked his meaty thumb toward the rear.
I know just what he meant
that place was for us
we were apart from the rest
so back there I went
Afternoons rush the bus was
crowded there was no more room.
There more of them
than there were of us.
Big man now standing over me
you got to move, you got to sit in the back.
“Excuse me Mr. Bus driver I don’t mean to
cause no fuss, but I just can’t do that anymore”.
it Don’t seem right somehow
I’ve paid my fare and took my seat.
His face was red, as red can be
and him shaking that finger at me.
“You colored’s got to ride in the back.
You know you always have
Now Get”.
Something happened in that moment of time
call it what you will but “Determination covered
me like a quilt on a cold winter’s nigh”. (r parks)
And my eyes became fixed.
It was time to become a human being.
The front door had been opened and I had stepped in.
(This poem is in no way demeaning to Rosa Parks
the conversation is factorial. The outcome is real.)
By David Painter
From: United States