Before amendments,
only white men could vote
under a constitution meant
to protect white male power
and their wealth to control the hour.
The hours of Women’s Labor.
The hours of Black Labor.
The hours of Asian Labor
on railroads crossing the nation
with white men’s wealth protected
in box cars, from southern fields
and northern industries.
Oh, we can easily see
why Originalist judges seek
to turn back time and make weak
the power gained by women’s suffrage,
African-American civil rights fights,
and Japanese reparation gains.
Each accomplishment a refrain
against white male supremacy.
There is a through-line of meritocracy
from serfdom and caste
until at last
white men must choose
which they love more;
their country or their power,
their countrymen or their wealth.
There is no stealth
as they seek to regain
what they once owned.
The rest of us!
annarino writes 