Look To My Back

Look To My Back

If you look to my back
A story you would see
The hardships I endured
Moments I put my family before me
Moments my freedom was more important

If you look to my back
You will see moments less than a human I became
Moments less than a man I became
Times I hesitated because family was more important
A tree illustrated from the lashes
A design of my pain, ownership and pride

If you look to my back
My life ends there
If I ever knew hope it was taken away from me
A piece of my soul escaped from there
Transferring itself in my future generations

If you look to my back
Touch every inch of it
Feel the impressions I made from it
Absorb the emotions I gave from it

If you look to my back
Where the whip cracked and landed
Where I became nude
Where I got to the point of no movement
You would not change places with me

Look to my back
There is a story for you
A story of freedom, suffrage and sadness
A story worth repeating
A story worth understanding

Look to my back…