LIZZIE WHITE

Ancestor, I try to imagine how you survived
the memory of bodies swinging in the breeze,
of the smell of flesh scorching your nostrils,
the unwanted hands grabbing your breasts
a mouth, hot and hellish, over your tongue
and teeth. I want to know how you survived
to bring us forward; what did you have to say
to yourself to bear the lash. Did you dream
of us? How did you do it, Lizzie? HOW?

© Valerie Bridgeman
November 3, 2013

After viewing the movie "12 Years A Slave."