O Juneteenth is fine, but how about that --
Olla Abe's Union states kept slaves, goddamn.
Civil war just a wham bam thankyou ma'am?
13th Amendment ended slav'ry, cat.
Ralph Ellison, the invisible man,
coming on back from Shirley Jackson's place
found hisself middle a Harlem riot race
Cops boppin; fires; rocks glass; catch as catch can.
Frankly, I don't know how the whole race breathe,
what with knees up necks and badge guns blasting,
canceling left and right, everlasting
Mighty One absent, up there high on meth.
Juneteenth's alright, another sleep-in day,
but there's no rest for the wary, no way.
#####
New Yorker today reprinted Ralph Ellison's 1999 story, "Mister Movie-Man," and it's well worth a read.
