| The soil here is hard in summer | |
| so I buried my father in a tomb of rocks, | |
| a plot behind St. Catherine's church | |
| to lay rest the giilded dream of pitiable men. | |
| With gold found to the North | |
| Quartzburg drove out its whores, | |
| its foreigners and roughnecks. | |
| They settled this camp. | |
| The Mexicans often staged | |
| bull and bear fights near the bar. | |
| They kept a boy entertained | |
| when there were no hangings to enjoy. | |
| The Cantonese flooded the quarries, | |
| working for less than the Whites. | |
| My father would curse the Orientals, | |
| yet came home reeking of opium. | |
| A group of my friends and I | |
| left to explore the creek. | |
| The Chinaman kneeled there, | |
| gleaning for gold. | |
| We mocked him and pushed him, | |
| I prodded him with my knife. | |
| He gripped his revolver | |
| and fired in the air. | |
| The errant bullet | |
| ricocheted off a stone | |
| and grazed my leg. | |
| I ran back bawling | |
| to the town. | |
| Mobs | |
| surround | |
| the crying Chinaman, | |
| Father clutching the noose. | |
| Law | |
| arrived. | |
| The sheriff demanded | |
| that he be jailed and properly tried. | |
| Gangs amassed | |
| late at night | |
| outside the jail. | |
| Father led, | |
| rope in hand, | |
| prey in his cell. | |
| Smooting lies. | |
| Tempted with | |
| tobacco leaves, | |
| the Chinese | |
| reached his arm | |
| through the bars. | |
| The lynch mob swiftly grabbed | |
| the gleaner's exposed hand. | |
| Father wrapped the collar | |
| aroud his neck. | |
| The horde yanked on the rope. | |
| Chinaman dragged and choked, | |
| his brains dashed upon the wall. | |
| Soon all the gold mines dried | |
| but that blood never did. | |
| Red still stains the jail cell wall. | |
| Father was never tried, | |
| none mourn a foreigner, | |
| but I saw guilt in his eyes. | |
| With all the riches spent, | |
| the people left the town | |
| yet I stayed to dwell here still. | |
| When Father died of drink | |
| I did not weep for him. | |
| I pray the grave unburdens his sins. | |
| I pray that someone will remain | |
| to bury me. | |
| I pray that someone will remain. |
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