Visitation
She used to have gone
to the Robert E Lee
Elementary School
Now they
want to take
that memory away from her
by ripping the names off
toppling the statues
toppling the memories
————————-
Why not the
William Faulkner school
the Eudora Welty school
the Tennesee Williams school
Why not pride
where there should be pride
not re-fighting a war
you can never win
just like none of us
none of us
can go back on our past
and change it
and change it
————————
2-Tried to talk
about Frank L Rizzo
and his center city behemoth statue
which only bothered me a little
’cause I was never black
never knew how it felt
to walk past a statue
honoring the racist mayor/police chief
’cause I didn’t know
personally
anyone who died
just from being black
just from being black
Wanted to tell her
‘least they won’t change the name
to Grant High School
or some such foolishness
and don’t we always
have to honor
soldiers and such
to the exclusion of-
but that’s another poem unwritten
singing of Lew Ayres and such
____________________________
3–She felt she was losing
her history
her heritage
her memories
I was thinking
but dasn’t say
Maybe it depends
what country
you thinking
you’re part of
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About bobsmall1
Bob Small has read at Bacchanal, Barnes and Noble, Borders,
The Booksource (Swarthmore), The Clark Park Festivals,Community College of Philadelphia
Highwire Gallery, The Mad Poets Annual Food Fest Reading,
The Middle East Restaurant, Nexus GalleryThe Painted Bride Arts Center,
The Philadelphia Ethical Society, Robin's Bookstore
The University of Pennsylvania and also in New York City,
Trenton, NJ, Washington, DC, and in many Delaware Valley Venues.
He is the author of numerous chapbooks, including
El Otro Lado (with Maralyn Lois Polak), On watching America Die,
Small Steps and Toes (with Lamont B. Steptoe), and The Unapoet.
This is his first Reading in over a year.
Bob Small was Founder and President of the
two decades old Poets and Prophets,
which presented Poetry Readings
in both Delaware County and Philadelphia.
Bob was the Chair of The Delaware County Green Party and was the
First Green Party Candidate in Delaware County (2005).
He was also a Green Party National Delegate, among other duties.
He is the Founder and Facilitator of
The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition (PaBac),
which is a Coalition of both Independents and Third Parties.,
seeking to legislatively improve Pennsylvania's Ballot Access Laws. (Facebook)
Bob is also a founding member and
Facilitator of Democracy Unplugged, and Delco Debates,
which has presented Independent and Third Party Forums in Delaware County since 2004. Facebook)
He was formerly involved with Cinema Resistance, and Delco Pledge of Resistance.
Bob currently lives in Swarthmore with his wife
and their menagerie of animals.
He is currently focused on writing a Novel and organizing his Poetry, which he posts on his Blog (Bob Small1). He is retired from most of the above activities, except Delco Debates and Poets and Prophets, which he may return to.
robertthesmall 
Good poem, Bob. Says a lot. Thanks for sharing it.