I stand at the precipice
looking down upon man,
all I see is blood and bile
while bodies are trampled as
senseless societal slaughter
is portrayed as okay
by those claiming they want to
protect our country,
November 19, 2022
improve our country,
May 25, 2020
revert it to the great nation it once was,
February 14, 2018
but it was never great
it’s been broken since the beginning
As I peer beyond the atrocities in front of me
I see three-fifths of a man crawling
amongst the ashes of his freedom
blood dripping, leaving a trail that follows
wherever he goes
I avert my eyes and
I see a wall of stone crumbling
gaseous tears and unearthly screams
haunting it, as bricks and pennies and bottles
are hurled like slurs by
innocents fighting for their right to exist
my gaze shifts once more and
I see a mother, her baby
enthralled in the songs she sings
while her feet bleed and sorrow
overtakes and consumes
her song
her home
her people
as they walk the road of repudiation
the baby begins to cry
my eyes dart from one atrocity to the next,
faux-sympathies and passive voices
make false promises
that ring in my ears as my knees buckle
and collide with
the mountain I stand upon
it begins to crumble
the facade
the beautiful, the great
it fades like old paintings
and the truth is placed on display
—
photo credit: Bob Strong/Reuters
