Detroit, 1967
my grandmother's maid
sweet potato pie
in the back room
black fingers on chocolate
I tell my brother
it's all right
1967
Saturday morning cartoons
black face
in black and white
shucking and jiving
8 Mile bus
black faces
in the windows
watching the suburbs
crumble into home
race riots
the jewelry
the coloreds wore
the day after
the truth set them free
arrest wall
coloreds
only
empty room
next to the kitchen
my grandmother hisses "niggers"
under her breath
and cooks her own eggs
suitcase on the walk
my grandmother's maid
tells me her real name