I
heard it
Like
thunder through the night
Breaking
the silence of slumber
Shaking
foundation
Echo,
echo, echo
Echoing
through the streets
A
sound so familiar yet uncommon
Unusual
to this place we all grew to label home
As
if it were a phone call
We
were eager to answer
Though
we cringed by the message from the other line
We
made our way outdoors
Hypnotized
by this noise
Wanting…
Needing
to know what it meant
We
sought its origin
To
confirm the fallacies of our neighborhood
Roaming
through what should be the dead of night
Baring
a winter’s cold against our skins.
By
now the sirens made no sound our instincts did not already sense
For
we had arrived
Arrived
at the scene where his body laid
Limp
and disfigured
Sprawled
in the now pool of blood
His
clothes torn at every point of impact
Yellow
tape guarded by disco dancing uniforms barred entry
Eyes
turned away; the faint of heart fled
A
mother; in the midst of the cluster
Screaming
in agony with knees to the concrete
Tainted
forever by the actions of a few.
Even
if you didn’t know him, tonight you knew him.
Caged
at the back
The
suspect sat awaiting his sentence
A
sentence that would come too soon from the protesting hoard
Aggravated
- a stone throw begins the ascension of judgment
Spider
webs creep across the police glass
This
“killer” had to be punished
And
though the lawmen ordered cease and desist
They
were no match for the wrath that would follow
When
the car window shattered and their prize was dragged out to the ground
Knelt
amid an angry mob
Pleads
of innocence and cries of condolences would not soothe this night
They
struck him.
Much
to his dismay but not to his surprise
They
wanted justice. They wanted blood
As
they punched him.
Kicked
him.
Flogged
him with whatever they laid their hands on
The
blood gushing from his forehead appeased it
There
is peace in death we would hope
But
for now there would be no silence for days of the weeks to come
Every
heart in anguish from the 2 innocent slayings.
Olsfred James 2013©
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