To the Ancient White Supremacist, or The New Jim Crow (with apologies to Coleridge)

It ‘tis the white Supremacist,

And he stoppeth one in three,

By his old Confederate Jim Crow work,

And now he stopp’st me.

Democracy did ope its doors from the 19th century,

And I alike and of my skin

Are American as he.

But once more now he holds his pen in his decrepit hand

to sign a new decree,

To stop the ship of state in dock,

That’s named Democracy.

But water water everywhere

Like waves of voters rise,

And endless they will come for sure for voting in the line.

The people can sometimes be fooled

But they ain’t fooled this time,

For endlessly like ocean waves came voters in the line.

And they’ll find the water at the booth

no matter how you try

With all your tricks and gimmericks to mark the color line.

Yes, water water everywhere

And still the lines won’t shrink

The more you try to keep us out

The more that we shall drink!

And make our voices loud and clear

By voting on the line.

-Albert Turner Goins