Shannon Yarbrough

If I were my angel
From my head I’d take my gimcrack crown
Only to the loving
I would have to lay it down
If I were my angel
For homeless warmth, I’d give my ivory robe
Only to the wretched
I would have dimmed the light that glowed
If I were my angel
On my back, my feathered wings would not stay
Only to the wounded then
I would give those wings away
If I were my angel
Touching myself with holy embrace
Only to myself
I would ignore my sinful face.

A MONKEY-SONNET

Swinging vine and Congo tree
chattering in zoo for nuts, popcorn
cage and syringe in laboratory
blamed for a disease, the way I was born

teach me to sign with my chimp hands
beating drums, scalped heads, expensive pelts,
wicked witch sends us flying over Dorothy land
I shine to what King Kong felt

for man’s descent, an easy reminder
riding a bike in a circus side show
pennies in a cup for the organ grinder
a human on my back that will not let go

three wishes and a monkey’s paw
ask Diane, she saw it all.

CHALKBOARDS

Why are some chalkboards green and some black?
Once, were more than the students segregated?
Separate water fountains, separate wash rooms,
Separate waiting rooms for blacks, for whites
Lines drawn with colored chalk…

I will not give up.
I will not give up.
I will not give up.

Why did their churches blaze and crosses burn?
Did wives get mad when men used the white bed sheets?
Back of the line, back of the bus,
Backs whipped and their blood too ran red
Lines drawn with white chalk…

I will not give up.
I will not give up.
I will not give up.

Chalkboards and blackboards
So many names mean the same thing
Whites and blacks
We write our white words on the same hard surface
Chalk lines are easily erased…

I will not give up.
I will not give
I will not