He used to think
           It was his blackness
That caused all the
Hate.
Like the smell of hot pavement, how it burns your nostrils after a
while.
People would wrinkle their noses
when he walked by.
He was covered in dirt, looking in store windows
Checking out the light displays.
Where does all this electricity come from?
Nobody answered, because you can’t see

an invisible man.

————-

by Cail Judy

December 2009

From Down To The River, a poetry chapbook inspired by African-African authors

This poem is based on the narrator in Ralph Ellison’s masterpiece Invisible Man

Note: I created illustrations for each one of these poems.  I’ll upload them in the near future.

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