Randy Klein, Composer & Pianist

EX-SLAVE

A Poem by Margaret Walker

WHEN I SEE YOU BENDING OVER SOMETHING RARE
LIKE MUSIC, OR A PAINTING, OR A BOOK,
AND SEE WITHIN YOUR EYES THAT VACANT STARE
AND HALFWAY UNDERSTAND THAT PLEADING LOOK;
I CANNOT HELP BUT BITTERLY DETEST
THE AGE AND MEN WHO MADE YOU WHAT YOU ARE,
WHO ROBBED YOU OF YOUR ALL – YOUR AMPLE BEST –
AND LEFT YOU SEEKING LIFE ACROSS A HATEFUL BAR,
AND LEFT YOU VAINLY SEARCHING FOR A STAR
YOUR SOUL APPRECIATES BUT CANNOT UNDERSTAND.