adapted from The Mural Vanishes
Whitewash
White paint
Hides our history
Diego Rivera’s
“Man at the Crossroads”
Beckons
Somber blond worker, strong,
Eyes upturned to God
Cog in machine
At his feet, crops bloom
He is body, sun, sky, cells
Stern-faced Lenin governs one corner
Hailed by workers
John D Rockefeller rules the other corner
Single malt scotch in hand
The painting strains to be seen
Singing beneath layers of thick white paint
Judy Taylor’s
“History of Labor in the State of Maine”
Beckons
Young workers, children in grays and blues
Hold buckets
Tired women clutch handkerchiefs
Earnest men stare at ballot box
Proud laborers wave bright yellow flag,
The painting strains to be seen
Gasping beneath layers of thick white paint
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