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photo by William Gottlieb/Library of Congress
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Strange Fruit, 2026
…………(or black men don’t hang themselves)
strange fruit
appears again from southern
trees, and bombs go off in
iran, and the crowd cheers
and a.i. girlfriends are
a better catch then real ones
and reality is whatever hollywood wants
it to be, and billie’s voice lingers
in the breeze, like a siren’s call
warning us of impending doom
though eggs and groceries are
cheaper and america is great
again
blacks and latinos sold their
souls away, waiting for a dream
deferred
orange cheeto says he’s gonna
bring america together, too bad
the meeting place will be the madhouse
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Erren Kelly is a three-time Pushcart nominated poet from Boston whose work has appeared in 300 publications (print and online), including Hiram Poetry Review, Mudfish, Poetry Magazine, Ceremony, Cacti Fur, Bitterzoet, Cactus Heart, Similar Peaks, Gloom Cupboard, and Poetry Salzburg.
Click here to read “Under Quarantine” — COVID-era poetry of Erren Kelly, published by Jerry Jazz Musician
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Listen to the 1939 recording of Billie Holiday performing the Abel Meeropol composition “Strange Fruit”
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Click for:
More poetry on Jerry Jazz Musician
War. Remembrance. Walls. The High Price of Authoritarianism – by editor/publisher Joe Maita
“The Sound of Becoming,” J.C. Michaels’ winning story in the 70th Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest
More short fiction on Jerry Jazz Musician
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