Black Cotton: A poem
Cotton picking’s in the blood of
the black man
Cotton picking’s in the roots of
the black woman
growing out from the roots of the black women
afraid to claim the cotton
Black cotton
Why do we fear the cotton
we’re of the
Cotton
kept us company in the sun
was the reason we sung
Picking cotton was thought to be
the destiny of the Black folk
Is that why we fear?
Black cotton
The cotton cut our backs
so we chemically cut the black cotton back
now
We transform black cotton
with heat that beat on the back
of our skin
While we picked
The cotton put us to shame
so now we’re ashamed of the cotton
Black cotton
In our roots
But we refuse to embrace
our race
We rather be like the white man
and whip the black cotton pickers
with our tongues
they pick Black cotton
and the other’s pick fun, Make fun
of the rarity
God planted Black cotton’s seeds
in our skulls
while we sweated
So don’t question
the Blessing
Don’t be afraid to pick Black Cotton.
-MBSoul
