Only the Darkest Will Do

Said mother, said to
Her daughters thereafter,
Said to their brothers,
Cousins, uncles,
And aunts.

(Would have said
To the grandparents, but they were already
Dead, blind, and deaf.)

There was therefor an order,
Said father to son;

There was therefore despair,
Said soldier to soldier;

There was therefore nothingness,
Said neighbor to neighbor,

That they were abolishing white.

And only the darkest would do.