Midnight Special

Midnight special
rolling down the track
Strange cargo
midnight black
Bound for Scotsboro
way down South
where white is white
and black is midnight.
They kept their place
their bit of soil
the good ole boys
chewing tobacco
gummed in toothless mouths
juice oozing from the sides
mean and stupid
but cleaver as a fox.
And then there was mud
unpaved streets
that turned to swamp
when came the rains
working its way up
through your toes
and your socks
And the grass
that dangled from your lip
looks so cool
tastes like honey
oozing off the spoon
in a golden lava flow
slow
smoking Luckies or Camels
and cola
cold and fizzy
Camels and cola
honey and chicken
chicken and rope
rope and blood
That’s what I remember
even though I wasn’t there
but maybe I was
there in Scotsboro
with the good ole boys
who didn’t know fuck.
But then everything changed
for everyone.