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at four o'clock
the sun still burns
in Parchman, Mississippi
and friends and relatives depart
with only vague impressions
of what they've heard

for only the inmates
really understand the
brutal injustices that lurk
behind the gates of Parchman, Mississippi

REMEMBER SHARPEVILLE

EUGENE PERKINS 
(for Dennis Brutus, African poet)

March 21, 1960

REMEMBER SHARPEVILLE
REMEMBER SHARPEVILLE

There was no warning
only the violent
sound of dirges
piercing the
humid air,
at their solemn
unprotected faces,
which could not
hide from death.

They came to Sharpeville
without their passes,
only with strong bodies
and the will to be free.

Volleys of bullets struck quickly
And the torn flesh of 
children, women and men
smeared the ground
with pungent blood.

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Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-14 10:29:04 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-14 16:51:27