I would not recognize anyone
whose lynching was preserved
in picture postcards.
I might spot a familiar face
in the raucous crowd.
I do hear mothers wailing
through a history
of dead sons.
We do not know the history
of disappeared women.
No one ever photographed rape
like lynching, then published it
for sale at local gas stations.
copyright © 2022 Kenneth P. Gurney
Umflop 