Petulas Touch Poem by Paul Warren

A story I came across recently. Hail to Petula Clark….

Petula's Touch

She was a singer of some renown
Downtown and My love was her popular sound
And on 2 April 1968 she was still top
Renown in the world as an actress she had the lot

Harry Belafonte was a black singer and actor
When appearing with white women it a was a factor
That white and black were to stay separate
He appeared on television with Petula as a singing date

They sang the song "The Paths of Glory"
An anti war song a sign of the times in the story
During the song she touched him on the arm
And to the American audience it caused alarm

The director of the show wanted a retake
But Petula refused wanting to stand on her fate
It screened in America with the gesture
With the sponsor Chrysler not pleased at this juncture

The alarm spread with a racial slur
How dare this happen on television such a stir
Harry called it out for what it was
Prejudicial in the extreme against the civil rights cause

To this day Petula Clark wonders why the rumpus
For such a small gesture that helped the civil rights compass
But the world knows how important it became
A woman of substance demonstrated courage in the civil rights game.

© Paul Warren Poetry