He didn’t have
a racist bone in his body
in the colloquial sense
of a bigot
treating others,
unlike him,
harshly.

He always tried
to help those
less fortunate
than himself
even though
he didn’t believe
in affirmative action
or acknowledge
white privilege.

He was advanced in years
as the car industry faltered
and the city became poorer
and blacker.

He was stoic,
self reliant,
and continued to drink the tap water
even after
the city
started drawing water
from the river
and health advisories abounded.

We’ll never know
if it was the bacteria
in the water
of the now predominantly
black city,
or just his age,
that killed him.