Baker Jim Gilbert

Rosa Parks is tired,
the edge of exhaustion
from a hard day´s work,
seated on a crosstown bus
this Montgomery afternoon.

This small framed woman,
a weary seamstress,
no dream of heroics,
just ownership of her being,
refusing to be anyone
but her tired self,
damned if anyone
will take this away
from her too.

Refusing to heed
the bus driver´s orders,
her small leaden body
quietly spins into gold.