What Is The Color Line? Poem by Wilfred Mellers

What is the color line?
Can you walk across it? I think not.
Do you need a passport to enter or leave it?
Will I need a visa, and how many days can I stay if I get the permission to embark?
Does it have a borderline?
How wide is this line, and how deep are its seas?
What will happen if I enter without a writ of invitation?
Do I have to be announced?
Is it special clubs in which only members are allowed?
Is it a special place where only a selective few may participate?
Where is this color line, and how can I reach it?

The color line is places deep whiten the darkest part of the subjugations heart.
It's a place where differences will not be tolerated.
If you do not look like me, walk like me, talk like me, and act like me then you are not welcomed here.
It is a place where only Anglo-Europeans can endeavor to become more.
It's a place where if you cross you may not return from intact.
It's a place of aggression, resentment, gratefulness, envy, and jealousy.

The color line cannot be seen nor can it be heard, but it can be felt.
The color line is a wall that cannot be breached by any normal means.
There is no way around or over it.
The strong-arm enforcer of the color line has allies in high and low places.
They cluster together as if they were flies hovering over a beast of burden's compost.