Two flew upon a violent sky
Yet, angels saw that neither die
Two pilots with a higher call
Taught brotherhood to one and all
Though neither knew this fateful day
That providence had come their way
As missiles pierced the clouds above
Explosions birthed two brother’s love
Two southerners, one black, one white
Both from a culture wound too tight
Their Jim Crow region, hatred thick
As fate would have it, wouldn’t stick
Their captors had them share a cell
It mattered not, these two, this hell
This ploy designed to foster hate
But fish don’t feed on rotten bait
At first suspicion ruled the day
But friendship chased their fear away
Red, white, & blue, the colors bleed
Through race, religion, color, creed
About the Creator
Earl W. Pearl
I’ve been writing poetry (rhyming mostly) since about 2014 and have recently transitioned to writing novels and short stories. My poetry genres are faith, humor, social issues, politics, pretty much any subject matter.
Keep reading
More stories from Earl W. Pearl and writers in Poets and other communities.
Comments (1)
This poem is about two fighter pilots during the Vietnam War that were shot down just days apart of each other. They were imprisoned together, sharing a cell, with hopes by their captors of exploiting the racial tensions of where they were known to be from, a segregated south. The link to their incredible story is below. <a href="https://www.historynet.com/north-vietnam-tried-to-exploit-american-racism-with-pows-it-didnt-work/">https://www.historynet.com/north-vietnam-tried-to-exploit-american-racism-with-pows-it-didnt-work/</a>