"Only in a Small Town"
(The Kind of Small Town that let Ruby Bridges Down)
"Only in a Small Town"
String a gay man to a fence / in the dead of night
Rob him blind, pistol whip him, / leave him there to die.
Put a billboard up / on the road into town
Warning coloreds off / before the sun goes down.
Only in a small town...
Only in a small town...
A 1st-string letterman / an all-American.
A 16-year-old sophomore / 3 sheets to the wind.
We all know how this ends / I won’t keep you in suspense.
Round here, ‘Boys Will be Boys’ / is a legal defense.
Only in a small town…
Only in a small town…
Rape’s a mortal sin, / and a felony crime
But our school can’t go to state, / if our Q-Bs doing time.
We fly a flag in esteem / to commemorate the dream
of a defunct and defeated / insurrectionist regime.
Only in a small town…
Only in a small town…
Another AR-15 / Claims our daughters and our sons
We must do more as a country / to protect our precious guns.
Only in a small town…
Only in a small town…
The kind of small town / wherein we define
The only moral / abortion as “mine.”
Jesus freaks and teenage brides / opioids and suicides
The type of small town / that let Ruby Bridges down.
About the Creator
Chris Z
My opinion column garnered more reader responses than any other contributor in the paper's 40-year run. As a stand-up comic, I performed in 16 countries & 26 states. I've written 2 one-man shows, umpteen poems, songs, essays & chronologies.
Day 4 of Quitting
If this is how sobriety feels, maybe it’s better to go through life a little buzzed… this, along with other hits like, I want to kill myself, I wish I was dead, and I’m going to throw myself off a bridge have been the only thoughts on rotation these past few days. I promise myself that if, in a month, I still feel like this (‘this’ meaning despondent, full of rage, and simultaneously numb) I can go back to smoking. Until mid-February though? Nicotine is off the table.
By sleepy drafts4 days ago in Longevity
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