Poetry – In Williamsburg (By Ray Gallucci)

IN WILLIAMSBURG

In Williamsburg we learn

How freedom ours was earned,

At least for lucky born

Of alabaster skin.

Their independence claimed

By declaration famed

That Founding Fathers framed,

Though was still had to win.

But if from continent

Of African descent,

Whatever effort spent

Was not for likes of you.

Four score and seven years

Still had to bear in tears.

And even then, as feared,

Was too good to be true.

For then came Ku Klux Klan,

Jim Crow and other bans.

A century they spanned

Of false equality.

Took lots of suffering

Then Martin Luther King

To promised freedom bring

Into reality.

About Ray Gallucci: I am a Professional Engineer who has been writing poetry since 1990. I am an incorrigible rhymer, tending toward the skeptical/cynical regarding daily life. I have been fortunate to have been published in poetry magazines and on-line journals such as NUTHOUSE, MOTHER EARTH INTERNATIONAL, FEELINGS/POETS’ PAPER, MÖBIUS (when Jean Hull Herman published), PABLO LENNIS, MUSE OF FIRE, SO YOUNG!, THE AARDVARK ADVENTURER, POETIC LICENSE, THUMBPRINTS, UNLIKELY STORIES, BIBLIOPHILOS, FULLOSIA PRESS, NOMAD’S CHOIR, HIDDEN OAK, PABLO LENNIS, POETSESPRESSO, SOUL FOUNTAIN, WRITER’S JOURNAL, ATLANTIC PACIFIC PRESS, DERONDA REVIEW, LYRIC, THE STORYTELLER, WRITE ON! and DANA LITERARY SOCIETY.