"I'd like a cup of coffee, please,"
He said with a half-hearted grin.
I poured a cup of java, black,
And set the mug in front of him.
He glanced around with shifty eyes
As if unsure of this new place.
No vain amount of small-talk chat
Could hide the fear upon his face.
"Did you have a nice day today?"
This is my customary line.
"I'm a bit nervous in this town.
Aside from that, I'm doing fine.
"I'd driven through Pana for years
And did not stop for fear of hate.
I've seen the cold hostility
That my skin color did create.
"When I walked in, you smiled at me.
But that man there, he dropped his gaze.
The farmer with the steel-toed boots
Was beaming hate with silent rays.
"I am a stranger in this town,
And I am black; so therefore I
Am branded "Outcast" in this place.
They know me not, but wish I'd die.
"I ran against your track team once.
'Course, that was thirty-some years back.
Some Pana boy yelled loud, 'Nigger,'
As I sprinted across the track.
"They spat on us and called us slaves.
The shame they cast is with me now.
I swore to not come here again,
And 'till this day, I kept my vow.
"Still, years have passed. My scars have healed.
It's time to forgive, not forget.
This town still carries memories
My sanity yearns to reset.
"I must go now. It's getting late.
I shouldn't stay here past day's end.
Though scandal in this town remains,
I'm proud to leave now as your friend."
