gal

hey gal
all young and frayed
what be yo name?

you remind me of innocence
that ain't passed this way since...
hey gal, why yo hair so nappy
and yo clothes so filthy
ain't you got
no mammy
no pappy?

hey gal
all young and frayed
what be yo name?
why you stare
like i'm barely there
don't you speak none
is you dumb?

why, sa i am but a gal
who came into this world
born free but shamed
by the hands of yo men
my mammy was raped

it was her innocence that once passed
stripped from her nakedness like a sash
tell me sa, does my eyes look familiar
does yo disgust like mine feel similar?

i traveled through the
the trenches
so please forgive me if
my hair be nappy
my clothes filthy
but you see sa
i come by way of
my mammy
the one you sold
now gone
why do you call me gal?
when you sa
is my pappy?


© Alya Landry 2009