Stand Erect

Chained around our necks
Lassoed, roped, and tied like cattle
Whipped and strapped
Prodded and abused
Damned and confused
Worked until dead
Wearing white sheets to keep us scared
Coming darkness forever dread
Rivers of life now flowing red
Why doesn’t this nation remake its bed
The bed that’s filled with so many of our ancestors dead
Until then we must stand erect and ensure that those stories they will not neglect

Joseph Hall