A Toast (Reflection on Juneteenth)
Here’s to the tears that they wept,
Here’s to their blood that was shed,
For they watered the hope that we kept,
A hope that we passed to the next,
Here’s to the blows that were dealt,
Here’s to the loss that we felt,
For the pain became our song,
And helps us carry on.
Here’s to the lies that were spread,
Here’s to the terror and the dread,
For we learned to overcome fear,
And to keep our Savior near.
Here’s to the one who was hung,
Here’s to another mother’s son,
For these wrongs will never be undone,
So their songs will forever be sung.
Here’s to Father that they stole,
Here’s to the bodies that they sold,
For our sons are now bold,
And a new story will be told.
Here’s to the whip of the past,
Here’s to those who were last,
For the fire that it lit in our souls,
Is the light that brightens our tomorrow.
June 19, 2020 6:52 pm
Amid Protests for Racial Justice
and a Global Pandemic.
Paulo Alexandre Nkangamambu Masokolo Nzambi