Montgomery

When I was young and covered in water

I walked through the woods and had no fear
without a mother or psalm or little tongue.

Old men wore cotton and would peel my fruit
with their teeth when papa was missing.

But then on Good Friday, the people wore white

and the negroes wore black.
Ledbetter sang his song to me
when I was just seventeen,
covered in white,

            Dear, Lord, give my lips honey
            ‘cause she’s tired of the love
            I been feeding her.

            Dear, Lord, give me pure skin
            ‘cause they won’t let me sing
            inside her.

When they set him on fire, I was at my altar,
and the scent of his skin was a gospel song.
When my mama took his body, we held hands and prayed
to the odors that kept beside her:

            I etch my sins into this negroes back,
            and send him down the river Perdido.
            Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat:
                       
                        I hope he makes it safe to Montgomery.