Land Of My Birth

POSTED IN contemporary poetry May 1, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Land Of My Birth

Oh Mississippi, my beloved Mississippi
How I long to bathe in your dark rich soil
Where my life was spent in great toil

How you dare to say can I feel this way
This place that brought me such pain
 Labelled by slavery, cruelty, and shame

In the Delta’s belly we were thus conceived
Breed like animals because of others greed
Compensated by death for our sweat & toil
My ancestors’ blood fertilizes the rich soil

Oh Mississippi, my beloved Mississippi
Labels shan’t cover your Magnolia trees
Or the sisterhood created from your seeds

The cruelty of men shan’t dim your beauty
It is the blind I fear that refused to see
That Mississippi is an integral part of me

Though the master’s whip plotted my course
And I borne him brown babies to till his fields
I cleaned his house & breast fed his young
And by his hands our children were hung

Oh Mississippi, my beloved Mississippi
You are my mysterious womb of birth
Every mother knows labor pains hurt

How can I not understand your worth
My heart is planted deep within the soul
Of a sisterhood more valuable than gold

Oh my beloved Mississippi, Mississippi
I am not blind to your natural treasures
Even if men cruelty is still raging strong
It’s to you I yearn to come back home

 

 

 

Copyright

12 / 28 /05 – 1 / 02 / 06 Linda Jones Malonson