There is no white person alive in America right now
who was ever a slaveholder.
There is no black person alive in America right now
who was ever a slave.
The souls of the slaveholders are now safely chained forever
in a pit of firey Hell.
The souls of the former slaves are now looking down at us
from the freedom of Heaven, and they say to us --
"Every person alive in America right now
is innocent of those past sins.
"There are none that need forgiveness,
though no one should ever forget.
"Every person of every color now has the chance
to make something new in America right now.
"You are all wasting this chance you've been given,"
the saddened souls of the former slaves say to us.
"It's time to sieze the new opportunity the Lord has given you,
it's time for every person right now, to make America right now."
J.A.K.
Pure beauty
Nice form & I like the use of the dialogue. But it’s something about word placement and/or word choice that keeps me from resonating with the poem completely. Maybe I’ll need to read this again at 7am, my mind works better in the early hours of the day.