STATUS by Phil Bratcher
Like so many others With plotted ground for strangers buried And them who was native, above ground or not Church, like all life back then, filled itself with hypocrisy Shunning blacks and poor whites to its edges In life big wealthy hinds sat in cushioned pews Feathered in fine down for preaching and other gatherings While live indigents sat on hard board To match their envy and other wanton sins And when they died, their bodies were laid farthest north In the cemetery of the poorest ground near tree roots Or where they was burialized low and wet As my Granny would say, "layin in a mush for a long time" She said the only blessing of the dead poor Was that they couldn't afford vaults And being planted in sandy ground, they rotted faster The dead rich were put away so much nicer Sealed in layers of iron and bronze and hand-smoothed mahogany So well was they preserved like the finest crisp pickles That when they were dug up years later for one reason or another They was often covered in a white "muther" or mold Sometime called "the veil of the saints" Now in my mind we all are saints Not that I can prove it, but it just seems right No matter what difference man and money made That in death and before the Creator Almighty Rich or poor, kin or stranger At some point I would think we all are just the same
Often a featured speaker, Reverend Bratcher is a volunteer chaplain for the South Carolina Department of Corrections, Upstate Coordinator for the South Carolina Global Warming Campaign for the Christian Action Council in Columbia, South Carolina, and is past Secretary to the Executive Board for Greenville Faith Communities United which seeks social justice and interfaith understanding.
Reverend Bratcher makes his home in Greenville, SC, where he is a member of the Metropolitan Community Church and is their interfaith representative to GFCU and past chair of their outreach and singles committees. E-mail Phil at Peacefulstar@msn.com. To read more of Phil's poetry, click here: A Sampling Bratcher - II Bratcher - III Bratcher - IV And here's one of his excellent recipes: Lace cookies Want to leave a comment about Phil’s poems and recipes? Please visit our Message Board or write Ye Editor at bethjacks@hotmail.com. Back to USADEEPSOUTH - I index Back to USADEEPSOUTH - II index |