When I first heard Bob Dylan sing about William Zantzinger and his murder of hattie carroll I had no idea that the tragic and horrific event was real. That is part of the responsibility of an artist, to comment on life and to educate the masses about who we are.
The story is that William Zantzinger in a drunken rage killed pour hattie carroll striking her multiple times with his cane. For the brutal killing William Zantzinger was fined $500 and was sentenced to six months in jail
William zantzinger died in 2009 and I think his death motivated the following poem I wrote.
William Zantzinger Meets the Lord
By John Kaniecki
William Zantzinger passed away
And Hattie Carroll had nothing to say
Get me a drink, get it fast
Oh God how I wish I lived in the past
Where Negroes were obedient and good
And a white man was clearly understood
So the southern aristocrat ascended
Preparing to give an account for his life on Earth
For every action he knew could be defended
And in the end he would prove his worth
So he came before the Judge of all
Where William Zantzinger was shocked in surprise
Crying out for forgiveness and grace
Upon his knees he quickly did fall
As he looked upon the true Lord’s face
Dark and black as midnight African skies
For socially conscious poetry please check out my book “Poet To The Poor, Poems of hope for the bottom one percent.”
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