Part 1 - Misunderstood (Prior Poem)
Your eyes no longer hide the truth
They have become the lens
to your dark soul
The bitterness written
between the lines of your face
Chiseled deep into the crevices
where it now resides
Dragging the once curve of a smile
into a permanent scowl
The magnitude of your suffering
living on display for all to see
Your strange, misunderstood past
responsible for a demeanor
that pushes friendship away
Making it impossible for anyone
to come close so they might
know more of your story and pain
Like you I have struggled to find the words to respond to the horror of the murder of George Floyd before my very eyes. A man who allegedly tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill was immediately regarded as a thief and killed without a trial or a chance to plead his case. Was he a threat to society? Did the police treat him this way for our own good? Absolutely not.
The irony of this story is he was killed by the knee of a policeman. If you remember it was just a few short years ago that quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem in silent protest to the unjustified police killings of African Americans. His action was quickly adopted by many players in the NFL and every Sunday we saw them all taking a knee prior to the game. Kaepernick was promptly fired by the San Francisco 49ers and was ostracized by other teams who regarded him as an unpatriotic troublemaker and he never played in the NFL again. His career was ruined for protesting and highlighting that Black Lives Matter. Instead of acknowledging what he was protesting, his critics were deeply offended by his disregard for the flag and thought that was more egregious. “Taking a Knee” as it was referred to quickly picked up steam and it was adopted by many sports personalities. They became targets of Trump and were treated despicably.
Now a policemen has used his own knee to publicly take the life of an African American. Where is the justice?
I close my eyes but the picture remains imprinted in my brain The sounds will not cease The cries ring in my ears and the terrors continue
I come to this place of peace to shut out the world and its ugliness The sadness loss and agony to which I bear witness
Suffering the atrocities of mankind they cannot heal So how can I? With survivor’s guilt I carry the anguish of their ruined lives Unable to save or protect them
