Getting Intimate with "Cross"

I read through all the poems tonight, and decided to get really intimate with one I didn't identify strongly with at first. That one would be Cross.

Cross
My old man's a white old man
And my old mother's black.
If ever I cursed my white old man
I take my curses back.
If ever I cursed my black old mother
And wished she were in hell,
I'm sorry for that evil wish
And now I wish her well
My old man died in a fine big house.
My ma died in a shack.
I wonder were I'm going to die,
Being neither white nor black?

There's an obvious meter between lines. This difference in rhythm helps contrast the two different parentages; the white man usually gets more syllables. In a way his surplus mirrors the emphasis society places on the white man. The driving conflict of this poem his the subject's mixed race; his father was white and his mother was black. We can imagine the story the story behind this poem easily. It was a wealthy estate owner who had sex with one of his female slaves. She gave birth to her child, and he fell into this nebulous space between the two races. (I realize now I'm using he, and I want to say that's because of the tone, but it could easily be a woman as well.) He lacks his father's high status in society and should be better off than his mother. Instead, he receives neither. Now he's lost both of his parents, and he regrets the frustration he probably vented towards both people. Part of this is just the remorse, but I'm sure he had his fair share of harsh words for them both when they were alive.

What I'm most interested in is the title. "Cross" has many connotations; the first I thought of was a biblical one. In a sense, this mix of race is the character's cross to bear. It represents all the struggles he must have faced. He is also a cross of races, which was his cross to bear. Perhaps it could even refer to his attitude; he is cross at his life situation. Reading this gives me a whole new appreciation for creating poetry. My statue of liberty poem does not make the cut.