Marriage License in ‘60s Boston

A line on the form asked words –
black or white. 
We asked brown?

The careful clerk consulted
the civil service bible.
It listed B’s birthplace White –
north Indians white,
south Indians black.
Irish always white.

B and I ease into this allowed
cargo space
the White list.
My chic French wedding suit to match

and no quandary for the judge,
formal in black robe.

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About the author
Lavinia Kumar’s latest book is Spirited American Women: Early Writers, Artists, & Activists – very short prose biographies of near 90 amazing pre-Civil War women writers, poets, publishers, painters, artists, abolitionists, early suffragettes, and activists. She is author of 3 poetry books (most recent, No Longer Silent: the Silk and Iron of Women Scientists) and 4 chapbooks (most recent, Beauty. Salon. Art.; Desert Willow Press). Her website is laviniakumar.net