Signs of the Times – 1960
written by: Carl “Papa” Palmer
“Thank you” was the only response from Mom,
secretary of Gardner Cigarette and Vending,
when the manager of the Tobacco Warehouse
next door delivered me in tow to her office.
“He was drinking out of the “Colored” spigot.
You need to learn him not to mix with them kind,”
storming out when Mom had no further comment.
I wasn’t so much drinking as washing the sweat
from my face, me and the three negro boys taking
turns cooling off after racing around trucks being
unloaded by their folks as crop owners looked on.
“I saw his silly sign, Mom, another one said “White”
That’s like saying if I’m colored, then I can’t drink,
or if he owns air and I’m colored, I can’t breathe.
Doesn’t that man understand colored lives matter?”
“Silly or not, Son, it’s his property and his signs.
At least he openly displays them for everyone to see.
Many keep their ugly signs secret, hidden inside.”
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