This throwback dime
Was dropped on Hulu
by a dame with 80 or more
Revolutions around the Sun
Who happened to be black;
Many shades shy of spades,
Actually.

Race ambiguity
Was the theme of her storied life...

She played her rights card
White through Jim Crow
And segregation
Hiding in plain sight
On the lighter side of town
Where strange-fruit hung
On Sundays,
A stone's throw from
Her White Sulphur Baptist church.

But Laura Nelson's tongue
Called her out
Bleeding guilt and doubt
Through her Southern belle cover.

"You know I'm Black, right?"
She finally told the white vendor
Trying to peddle
A piece of Laura.

"Yeah and I'm Harriet Tubman."
Quipped Sally,
Cackling through missing teeth,
Beady eyes gleaming,
Eager to close the deal.

"I fixed it good with formalin.
Be worth a fortune
At the Clan Rally
In June..."

50 revolutions or so
Ago
A poorly-made woman
Found her soul.

And she's been loudly
Black
Ever since.

AYO

~ P