Lucille Clifton




a visit to gettysburg

i will
touch stone
yes i will
teach white rock to answer
yes i will
walk in the wake
of the battle sir
while the hills
and the trees
and the guns watch me
a touchstone
and i will rub
“where is my black blood
and black bone?”
and the grounds
and the graves
will throw off they clothes
and touch stone
for this touchstone.