Strange fruit hangin'
In the Georgia breeze
From the Poplar trees
They tell us
Avert our eyes
We’re too young
To see the bruises
And the scars
Reminders and Memorials of
How it’s planters
Deformed
Such a strange fruit
We struggle to remember
That activity so often forced
Into passivity
Trickle fed pictures
In black and white
So we may think
Such a strange fruit long extinct
A museum artifact
Like a great aunty’s picture
Tucked away
No longer dwelt upon
Those planters
of the strange fruit know
It’s easier for dust to cover
Their black and white crimes
Then the living color of
The blood-red juice
Running down the skins
Of the strange fruit
They hung
In the Georgia breeze
From the Poplar trees
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A/N:
Written for Juneteenth. Sampled from Billie Holiday.
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About the Creator
Matthew J. Fromm
Full-time nerd, history enthusiast, and proprietor of arcane knowledge.
Here there be dragons, knights, castles, and quests (plus the occasional dose of absurdity).
I can be reached at [email protected]
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More stories from Matthew J. Fromm and writers in Poets and other communities.
Throne of the Beast
“Lock and load.” Knight One’s command echoed through his helmet, drowning out the helo’s thumping engines. Knight Two sat across from him, his mechanical gloves thumbing the safety on his oversized auto shotgun clad in etched black metal. Knight Four scoffed silently, his face obscured by the jet-black helmet. An uncivilized weapon for an uncivilized man. There are already enough of those in this godless world. Two always seemed unsettling, like a big frothing dog in a constant internal struggle of, “Should I bite or hump my master?” It was no wonder Callsign General loved Two, even if Callsign Archbishop barely tolerated him. One was the Archbishop's girl.
By Matthew J. FrommExclusive • 2 years ago
Comments (11)
You nailed it with these liness Greatttttttttttt! 'Their black and white crimes Then the living color of The blood-red juice'
I want to write my story but I don't know how to use this app?
Suitably uncomfortable reading ❤
Beautifully written and so haunting. Well done!
Chilling, bringing this into the present.
Great poem, Matthew! An excellent sampling from the song with your own powerful lines
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Straight to the front page! That’s how it’s done. More importantly, the subject matter is immaculately timed. How can you not recognize it? Way to go Matt! And thank you, Vocal for the recognizing this. Happy Juneteenth everyone!
Most excellent! I love Ms. Holiday’s power house song and that she insisted to sing it despite the cruelty she endured because of the response of people in power. Well and truly perfectly timed.
Intense; brutally passionate with profound metaphorical use.
This is incredible. What an incredible visual picture you have painted. Great work
This is beautiful, saddening and impressively written, friend. I imagine this will be a Top Story soon enough. The moment I saw the title I thought of the Billie Holiday song and Blood on the Leaves by Kanye West.