Ebolution

CATEGORY

life

emancipated slaves in one room shacks
a-b-c’s
1-2-3's
for all ages
shapes and sizes

"ebolution be comin,’ honey chile, 
it sho’ nuff be comin’ after while..."

universities
a-b-c’s
1-2-3's
degrees in sewing
homemaking
and submission to our betters

"ebolution be comin..’
yessuh...
yes ma’am...
what time does you want yo’ dinnah served?"

exodus northbound
overcrowded tenements
overcrowded schools
a-b-c’s
1-2-3's
diplomas for lifetimes of factory work
garbage pickups
unemployment
or tickets back to the south for graduate school cotton picking

"ebolution be comin,’ mr charlie...
train be comin’ at 4...
wanna shine?
tap dance fo’ a nickel..."

yeah, baby...
i learned my a-b-c’s
and 1-2-3's
was taught George Washingtons
years
before discovering my George Washington Carvers
John Phillip Sousa
readily taught
before I knew of John Handy
and Coltrane

but now, i know them all
and de ebolution’s gonna hit ya
like the boycotting
sit-in
black panther
post-Malcolm and Martin assassinations
rioting
revolution of my youth

"ebolution be comin,’ baby
it be comin’"

as sho’ as there was a Benjamin Franklin
and
a Benjamin Banneker

"ebolution be comin,’ baby
it sho’ nuff  be comin’"