The slaver wrote
“Amazing Grace”
and felt he’d gotten free.
Kept to his profession
long after writing the song
because that’s where
the money was. When he’d
gotten enough he finally said
“let those people go”
and passed away
with all the grace
a blood fortune could buy.
The billionaire said
“it’s time to give back”
and “it’s time to save
the world,”
did just enough of each
to remain solvent
while running for
office and caring in
public. The world
remains unsaved
and here we are
smothered in billionaires —
slavers too, as if
they’d never left.
As if they’d never
been rendered obsolete
by soft new words
chained to an old tune.
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