The Most Peculiar Passengers

‘Twas rush hour three Mondays past

On an empty car, three from the back

The train had always been so packed

I did not know how to react.

And from the platform through the doors

Sat one passenger I could not ignore

In her eighties, she must have been

With dark, wrinkled and tired skin

Her eyes stuck to a newspaper

“Where are you headed,” I asked her

Slowly, she looked up at me

And sat there, staring silently

She uttered not a single word

Yet through her eyes, the pain I heard

Her trembling arm reached out to me

offering the paper

Like she had longed for me to read.

Shocked, I was at the headline.

“Jones to be lynched at a quarter past five.”

The date, perhaps what shook me most

Marked eighteen-sixty-five on the old, stained Mississippi Post

“Jones” the last name I possess

“It must be some coincidence.”

I skimmed through the fine detailed print.

And sad it was, I must admit.

Hundred-Twenty-fifth, my stop was here

Before my eyes, she’d disappeared

And left me with her newspaper

"How strange," I thought while on my way

To serve my people that first day.

My hair so straight, perfectly pressed

In the finest Chanel, I dressed

Without a doubt, I would impress

My subjects with my first address

As President of the elite

Club at Columbia University

Conservative Society

And committed I was indeed

To serve our great community.

And at that podium, I stood

Confident I surely would

Propose that we would fight against

The public school development

That would serve underprivileged kids

It would cost tens of millions

“Our tax dollars should not go here

If you can’t afford school, disappear.

People work for what they own.

The lazy always bitch and moan.”

Passionately, then I screamed.

“Let’s fight for ours that must be redeemed.”

I looked into the clapping crowd

Smiles, cheering all around

The audience was clearly wowed

And I had never felt so proud.

In bed that night, to my dismay

The woman I had met that day

Would travel in a different way

Through my mind the way she made

The article bestowed to me

Would come to life through different scenes.

Mr. Jones, a pleading crowd

But firmly, guilty he was found.

Of accusations that he stole

The very money he was owed

To pay his daughter’s way through school

His owners lie just mean and cruel

And there he stood right on the ledge

Where for the last time he would pledge

His sobbing oath of innocence

This death, it simply made no sense

The passenger had then appeared

On her knees, eyes pouring tears

“My husband! I assure you that the Lord above is near.”

And as they pushed him off the ledge

I woke up in the coldest sweat.

Rocking back and forth in angst

This sadness I could not escape

I couldn’t help but think it strange

To me, she came moments before

I finally got what I’d strived for

Next morning, restless, lacking might

I knew I had to fight the fight

I pressed my hair, Dior, I’d wear

And at the station paid my fare.

“Get it together for you must lead.

The fight for stolen tax money.”

Then as I approached the same car

There I saw not from afar

A most peculiar passenger

This one was reading a letter.

She looked about age forty-five

The same dark skin and saddened eyes

Freaked out I was, I cannot lie

She clearly had an alibi

The closer that I got to her

Her face seemed quite familiar.

The woman that I met Monday

So much younger the next day

I leaned in and asked, ” just how

Do you appear more youthful now.”

Again without a single word

She handed me her short letter

In bold, the writing clearly read

“Ms. Jones, come home, your father’s dead.”

My racing heart could not believe

That this was a reality

It must have been some lucid dream

Distracting me from my duties

Hundred-Twenty-fifth, my stop was here

And yet again, she disappeared

And left me with the note as if she’d hoped it’d become clear.

And as I walked to that building

where eagerly they were waiting

I couldn’t help but wonder why

this happened for the second time.

Why? There was no way to know

How both possessed the last name, Jones.

I took a deep breath, stepped inside

And felt I was about to cry

But still, I knew I had to try

To make sure that I would abide

By what I thought to be was right

I did my best to hide my angst

Delusions I did not create

Were somehow trapped inside of me

Approaching the mic, suddenly

All I heard were traveling steps

Coming toward our current event

My chest, beating, palms in a sweat

And though the door, she took a step

She moved right through the audience

And in the front row, she would rest

It seemed like it was all a test

But still, I tried my very best

To uphold the plan I possessed

Avoiding her was my tactic

But midway through it wouldn’t stick

She shook her head and cried and cried

I stopped and wondered, “why now, why?

There must be something behind this

A larger force that must exist

To show me something of myself

That perhaps I had never dealt

At home that night I couldn’t sleep.

Just driving myself so crazy

Analyzing the past days

I woke up in a sleepless haze.

The next day, hesitant and scared

Yet strangely, I now was prepared.

To meet another woman after paying my train fare.

Empty, with but one young girl

A cute pink dress and hair of curls

The same black skin and eyes she had

Wiping tears with her left hand

“What’s wrong, sweet girl?” Can I help you?

She replied, “Yes, face the truth.”

We gazed into each other’s eyes.

A familiar feeling swept my insides.

“Do you remember me?” she asked.

“I met you way back in the past.

You were just a baby when

I passed at age one-hundred and ten.”

I couldn’t remember meeting her.

Until she said, “I’m your great-grandmother.

Here to help you discover

A past you need to uncover

Before me, the women you met

Our ancestors, you’ll never forget

For they all live inside of you

With endless love that is so true

“What brings you here?” I inquired

“To guide you is all I desire.

Generations risked their lives

And Fearlessly they fought and strived

With hope, this country would provide

Us with our fair and equal rights

And time and time we were denied

Same education as the whites

And finally, they’d won the fight

And Through darkness, blood, sweat, and tears, at last, we saw the light.

Then as I stood there in a line.

With my people, one of nine.

In Arkansaw, at Little Rock

A path of entry, yet again blocked

Fearfully, I saw the glares

Of folks who didn’t want us there

With hateful words, they yelled and spat

“Go home niggers. Don’t come back.”

She had spoken, I had no words

The words she spoke, I finally heard

We shared a warm and tight embrace

She whispered, “You now must run the race.”

And yet again, she disappeared.

But this time, with a picture clear.

The third day standing on that stage

And at a sea of white, I gazed

The faces looking back at me

Were humans I had once believed

I was required to be

If in this life I would succeed

And then came my epiphany.

So long I denied and tried

To mask a skin, I couldn’t hide

Ashamed of my own history

Afraid of all things I’d see

But now I know, ironically

It has paved the very path I lead

Provided opportunities

And ensureD that I would be freed

Of a nation built on hate and greed

Which fostered human slavery

Ashamed at who I had become

Disgusted at what I had done

I asked the crowd to take fifteen

And after that, we would convene.

Sitting on the platform’s steps

Soaking in my huge regret

Wondering how I brushed aside

The world that I had left behind

Memories of what got me here

Diminished slowly through the years

And now they’ become crystal clear.

In the projects, I was born

My parents, at the time, were poor

As they didn’t learn much at school

Their education was deprived

Of resources that would provide

A space in which they could have thrived

And even when my daddy tried

To get a job, with us in mind

Many others were inline

The white were hired every time

And daddy lost his sense of pride.

They wished that they had more to give

Than family and a place to live

The love they shared was pure and true.

And I made it my duty to

Work hard so that I could provide

My family with a better life

I worked and slaved day by day.

And somehow, I had lost my way.

But slowly, I’d found my way back.

To bury all the shame at last.

My proposal would regress

Progress of the black, oppressed

Boys and girls who look like me

Would suffer so tremendously

Kids deserve the right to learn

Despite how much their parents earn

Through that school, they’d walk through doors

That our ancestors were fighting for

The time was up, no turning back.

My choice was made; I had to act!

I thought, “You know, they may hate you.”

Still, I knew what I had to do.

“I have some big news to bare

In hopes that most of you will care

To preface this, I must tell you

My plan was straight up mean and cruel

I know, this might come as a shock

These past three days, I’ve learned a lot

Discovered a dark history

Of those who fought and died for the

Rights of folks with skin like me

Not only to you, did I lie

Subconsciously, I can’t deny

I masked my race to shine my white

With only my success in mind

And now I need to do what’s right

My family’s work won’t be in vain

And with this stance, I won’t refrain

Speaking words of truth today

Was something that was long-delayed

Darwin’s theory, once I preached

A mindset that I now impeach

We live in a marginalized society

Where colored folks are taught that we

Are inherently lesser than thee

A system set for us to fail

Yet still possible to prevail

But at a cost, as I have learned

For through my fake white I identity I’ve earned

But half the respect I deserve

How you act, you must decide

I do encourage you to try

To understand just what you have

You walk a very different path

Try understanding empathy

And research truthful history

For not everyone’s granted the

Profound privilege to simply be

Free to learn and walk the streets

As President, I will now resign

In hopes that you will soon decide

To advocate for our black lives

I bid you all a firm goodbye

And for the very first time I

STAND HERE BLACK, WITH UTMOST PRIDE!!!