Ode to Emmett Louis Till

Emmett Louis Till was a 14 year-old boy who was lynched in Missippippi back in 1955. I was so moved by his story that I found myself pouring my emotions into words. It is worth mentioning that I wrote this before information about a documentary that was being made about him came out.


Come here children, gather all around
Come huddle together and be still
Listen with your hearts, don't make a sound
Listen to the epic of Emmett Louis Till

A giant of a boy at age fourteen
A mountain of a man when men were few
If freedom had a face that could be seen
Then Emmett would be its crimson hue

Beaten to a pulp by the "Bible Belt"
With savagery akin to the wildest beasts
No one can feel what Emmett had felt
So toast him not at your hypocrite feasts

They thought they'd killed him by their deed
Later, they washed his blood away
Little did they know they'd sown the seed
And fertilized the soil they aimed to fray

His body lay dead, but a movement was born
His blood was spilled to fuel its flare
Fragile were the limbs they thought they'd torn
Iron was the will they'd forged from despair

Emmett, your blood still gushes strong
Your bones are still broken each and every day
Many have striven to right the wrong
But the bigotry of some still thrives today

The embers lay smoldering beneath the ash
While a storm is brewing out over the sea
The scoundrels, betrayed by a lightning flash
Shall stand exposed for everyone to see

All masks have fallen, not one remains
What monstrous features have been revealed
Crosses and Bibles, blotted with blood stains
Of those "loved" to death in order to be "healed"

Those of us who "differ" still tread your path
Emmett, freedom has turned elusive anew
The children of your slayers still wreak their wrath
On today's "sand niggers" and the Muslim few

They speak of peace as they march to war
They've scorched the fields of Liberty's bloom
Hypocrites of a breed not known before
They are the children of the womb of doom!!

Rabih Haddad
December 8, 2002
Monroe County Jail