Today I picked the grapes,
But they were not mine to eat.
They were only mine to put into
The basket at my feet.

And when the day was over,
I stood and turned for home,
But I really didn’t have one.
My home is just a room.

One room in a two room shack
I share with my three brothers.
What we own fits in a gunnysack.
And we belong only to each other.

Yes, freedom is what we share
As we move from town to town
But we hope we’ll find a place somewhere
Where we can settle down.

A church, a school, a neighborhood,
The things you overlook.
As you eat the grapes I picked today.
And page through your Redbook.

In honor of the day:

Mankind: such a beautiful word!
Reverse the syllables.
The meaning is clear.
If every man was a kind man
Unlimited change would appear.

Yet inflamed by fear,
Ashamed we hide.
We dwell on difference in color and creed.
We build walls without doors,
Make rules we can’t bend,
Draw lines we can’t cross
When if we would blend
We’d find the companionship each of us needs.

Alone we hide behind our walls,
Reside within our boundary lines.
Until our make-shift rules collapse
We remain only man
Instead of mankind.