Neighborhood Watch

Poetry: An Honest Reaction To Injustice

Photo by Nicole Baster on Unsplash

“Do not go gentle into that good night.”

The sight of light beams on high seem to tell me otherwise.
What lies beyond the shadows of trees?
The pitch dark sky leaves one’s mind to wonder:
What good can come from this late night hour?
Sour skittles and ice in hand after long walks and short stops at 7-Eleven.
Never lessens the uneasiness of what feels like the very core of my being:
Twisting.
Turning.
Leaping.
Not for joy.
But a gut-wrenching reaction to the fractured thoughts of a seventeen year old boy;
and those whose dark, ebony skin laid lifeless on the surface of the street.
Designed on purpose.

I repeat their names, so as to not become disheartened:

Trayvon Martin.
Laquan McDonald.
Michael Brown.
Sandra Bland.
Tamir Rice.
John Crawford.
Keith Scott.
Ezell Ford.
Walter Scott.
Eric Garner.
Terence Crutcher.
Alton Sterling.
Philando Castile.
Ahmaud Arbery.

SAY THEIR NAMES.