Stormy PoeticJustice

I didn’t want to write a poem about Michael Brown because I was afraid

that the anger I felt would somehow transform my pen into a weapon

that I could no longer control

that’s not exactly true

I didn’t want to write a poem about Michael Brown

because I am tired of having the same damn conversation

with the same damn people

about the same damn issues

yes, racism still exists

no, it’s not automatically a hate crime if a group of Black teens rob a White guy

no, your “meanwhile in Ferguson” meme that features an angry gorilla is           

not fucking funny

and when I unfriend you on Facebook that’s not me being overly sensitive

that’s me showing restraint

I didn’t want to write a poem about Eric Garner

even though they used their bare hands instead of their guns

the result was the same

an execution in the streets without shame

with pride

can you even imagine the amount of confidence in the

Teflon nature of the badge

it takes for a cop to feel perfectly comfortable smiling and waving at the camera

even as Eric’s cries of “I can’t breathe!” had turned into the silence of him dying

I didn’t want to write a poem about Trayvon Martin because

Cornbread ran across the screen with a soda pop in his hand in 1975

only to be shot in the back and die in the streets

and the story wasn’t new then either

12 % of the population is Black yet

21% more likely to have its young men shot dead by police

the imbalance is clear

I didn’t want to write about John Crawford

I don’t want a to believe that a shopping trip could result in the end of a life

how ironic is it that toy guns are marketed to the very population

that is so often identified as dangerous because they possess toy guns

so I didn’t want to write a poem about twelve year old boy with a BB gun

shot within two seconds of the arrival of the police called to deal with him

two seconds

shorter than the time it would have taken to yell for him to drop the gun or get on the ground

shorter than the time it would have taken for him to comply with their request

their efficiency was astounding

situation handled

I didn’t want to write a poem about Tamir Rice because

I don’t let my son play with guns

I don’t let him run around playing cops and robbers because I’m afraid

that he  would be too comfortable playing the robber and

I’m afraid that he would be too comfortable playing the cop

and I don’t want him to be practiced at playing either role

but since he came to me damaged

a child who continues to steal things that I already provide for him

I doubt I will be able to protect him from police contact

if he is followed in a store and accused of theft he won’t necessarily be innocent

so I worry that I am doing him a disservice

maybe we should have regular raid drills where I suddenly run into the room and he practices

raising his hands higher and faster than anyone else and throws himself on the ground while

yelling “don’t shoot” louder and louder until it deafens me

so that I will never have to identify his body

I didn’t want to write a poem about Omar Edwards

because it means that even my cop uncle could be gunned down

while attempting to protect and serve

because even if you are a cop

Black in Harlem is still Black in Harlem

I didn’t want to write this poem because I wanted to have something different to say

and this story is old news as

we are still trying to convince the country that Black lives matter

though the stems have turned from ropes to guns

we are still swaying in the breeze like strange fruit

with blood on the leaves and blood at the root