Red River

Abigail Sullivan

A red river runs

through the White House halls.

with their white floors and white skin

tanned brown.

Paying the green vests, with green money

to take the brown people keeping the fields green 

under the hot yellow sun.

Then come the black trucks,

with their black wheels and black guns.

To take them to the grey bars

with grey concrete floors stained red.

For the white man with green money

who “sees no color”

signing colored lives to the brown dirt

on crisp white paper 

with blood red ink, 

disguised as red, white, and blue. 

Disclaimer:

This collection is a work of poetic expression. The imagery and language are symbolic and critical in nature, reflecting on systems of power, civic trust, and collective grief. It is not an endorsement of harm, nor a condemnation of belief, but an examination of how authority and language are used and misused. Any religious, national, or political imagery is used symbolically to invite reflection, not to assign blame.