These Are

I am 27 in cut-offs
And an old blue shirt
Sleeves rolled up, foreman
Of a county jury trying to assess
Damages to a poor black woman who was hit in an auto collision accident injuring her face,
But she can only afford
An inexperienced
Lawyer dressed
In black from
New York
With an
Accent
To
Match
Who has
Never pled
A case in Texas
And sums up his
Case addressing a
Hostile jury saying to us,
“These are the times that
Try lawyers’ hearts!” which
Causes the judge to roll his eyes
And slowly slap his own forehead
Shaking his head in disgust as
We in the jury plainly see the
Poor lady who got hit will
Most likely get another
Smack to the face
But as foreman
I threaten civil
Action on my
Jurymen if
They keep
Making
Racial
Slurs,
One rich
White lady
Snidely speculates
No facial damage can
Be seen on the poor black
Woman in the case which
Is how things were in old
Austin in the late 60’s,
Weird but prejudiced
As I, a student at UT
In cutoffs and an
Old shirt, was jury
Foremen but
Racial
Insensitivity
Was still strong,
We have come a
Long way since then
Toward learning how to
Play together nicely
A lesson we should
Have learned in
Kindergarten
But that was
Segregated
Way back
After "the
War”,
WW2.
We the
Jury gave
That poor woman
Just compensation for
Injury inflicted on her by
A careless driver then I stopped
Her lawyer in the parking lot after
The trial and told him if he was
Going to practice law in Texas
He had better get a gray suit
And fake at least a Texas
Accent and never ever
Turn your back on a
Texas judge who
Already thinks
You are a
Damn
Yankee,
These are
Not the ways
To defend a client
In the Republic of Austin
Where the taxi drivers
And waitresses often
Have advanced
Degrees where
Racism dies
Stubborn
With a
Stake
In its’
Heart of Texas.
An, ah helped!
Hook ‘em,
Gig ‘em
Burn ‘em
Out.