In 1944
the lives of black boys
were worth nothing
and you were
no stranger to bloodshed
or the drives of men
in a Southern sawmill town
That Carolina dawn
came tender
and 2 white girls
raped and murdered
led to a black boy’s door
You were 14
no stranger to bloodshed
or the drives of men
In newspaper photos
eyes caved with wisdom
lips without question
a child resigned
to a man’s fate
In 1944 the
lives of black boys
were worth nothing
and George Stinney, Jr.