Minnesota 1945

My mother was a black woman
and my father was a white man
And in the middle of a midwestern winter
they took cover in the night...
And they talked about injustice
And they talked about freedom
And they talked about Hitler
And made love to piss him off
And they talked about forgiveness
And they cried for their loneliness
And they talked about belonging--immigrant lives

And the snow raged past the window
And they held on to each other
And they stared out at Minnesota
And everything looked the same