The Kirkwood Y and the Neighborhood Pools

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
Bessie Branham YMCA, 1965,
your tiled deck under July sun,
chlorine sharp in the air, mixing with sweat
from kids diving into the deep end.
You were our refuge, pool of resistance,
where Black mothers brought us,
ignoring the city's locked gates.
East Lake Family YMCA, just down the road,
metal bleachers hot to the touch,
sunscreen and hot dogs on the breeze.

[Chorus]
Oh water, you held us,
splashing free in segregated summers,
from Kirkwood Y to Oakhurst's shallow end,
Lake Claire's oaks shading the dives.
You were the heart, cool and unyielding,
against the heat of denial.

[Verse 2]
Remember the moonlight swims, unrecorded,
lanterns strung over the edge,
DJ's records spinning Motown echoes
as teens floated under stars.
Bessie, your name etched in the concrete,
educator's legacy in every ripple.
Edgewood pools, whispered gatherings,
where grandmothers organized the carpools,
their hands clasping ours to the gate.

[Bridge]

In this chlorine kiss, we found freedom,
a drop against the drought of rights.
No more waiting for white-only waves,
just us, diving deep into our own blue.

[Verse 3]
Oakhurst's lifeguard whistle pierces the humid air,
kids cannonballing into history,
each splash a story untold.
East Lake's starting blocks clink,
orange sunset on the water's skin.
You, pool, addressed as lover,
held the weight of our joy.

[Outro]

Summer afternoons linger in your depths,
Kirkwood's liquid pride, forever ours.