“To side with the right against the wrong, the weak against the strong, and with the oppressed against the oppressor! here lies the merit, and the one which, of all others seems unfashionable in our day.” —Frederick Douglass 1852 speech “What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July”
I.
When a man is
Murdered in Minnesota—
knee on neck 9 minute metaphor
They flood Gaza streets like
monsoons of youth—Saying his name
When a man is
Murdered in Minnesota—
spends last gasp calling Mother-ancestor
They make magic murals; his chocolate visage eye-
candy for handcuffed children— Saying his name!
When a man is
Murdered in Minnesota—
and whispers faintly, “I can’t breathe…”
They Toyi-toyi through teargas clouds; rubber bullet
reign—through senseless sentences— Saying his name!
II.
Say their names! Say their names—
spinning our wheels in elephant excrement;
in donkey dung— Or thunderous silence…
Every 10 minutes…
Children re-named:
“Collateral Damage”
“Civilian Casualty”
“Pedicide”
“Infanticide”
“Genocide”
STOP asking—
“Which side are YOU on?”
© 2023. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
https://theblacklist.net/
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