5 February 2007 | Vol. 6, No. 4
An Ad in the Chicago Defender
after Rose Piper's Slow Down Freight Train
broad shouldered negro seeks work up north. robust hands good for ferrying heavy loads across long distances. legs trained to walk miles and miles. walked forty years in the southern wilderness. never worked in the industry but willing to learn. can keep long hours slaving under intense sun. no stranger to labor or low wages however there is word that your low is our promise. don't need much room. forty acres would have been too much. just need a corner of a corner to rest my eyes between shifts. will not be distracted by women or love or necessity of the loins. will travel solo. respond soon. will board the next north-bound train.
About the author:
DeLana Dameron, a native of Columbia, SC spends her days in Chapel Hill, North Carolina translating the world around her—forever trying to marry the historical and the literary. She is a Cave Canem fellow and a member of the Carolina African American Writer's Collective. She adores letters and can be reached at .
For further reading:
See the complete list of work by DeLana Dameron at 42opus. Browse the contents of 42opus Vol. 6, No. 4, where "An Ad in the Chicago Defender" ran on February 5, 2007. List other work with these same labels: poetry, prose poem, ekphrastic.
