LAZARUS IS A BLACK MAN
Matthew Johnson
There is no Lazarus
Like the black man,
For I am the lowly Lazarus of America.
The best of me is turned to the open grave,
As death comes easy to me,
And another takes my place.
The people pass on,
They see what I give up, and they forget.
They wait for another dark-limbed Lazarus to die again,
And pause, until another takes my place.
Author's Commentary: I was particularly influenced by "The Young Voice Cries" by Mae Crowdery, "Christ in Alabama," by Langston Hughes and a mixture of Bob Dylan songs in writing my poem.
Matthew Johnson is a sports reporter in Central New York state. He is hoping the New York Giants pulled it together by the time you are reading this and make it to the Super Bowl. With sports, poetry is his greatest love. Matthew has had work appeared in The Coraddi, The Carolinian, Obsidian Magazine, The News Verse News, The Yellow Chair Review, Ink in Thirds, Jerry Jazz Musician, and Scarlet Leaf Review. You can follow him on Twitter here.
