There is no
Officer Friendly
in George’s neighborhood.
And
violence,
non-violence,
neither has worked.
Gandhi would be dismayed.
How can MLK RIP
with his dream
still such a long way off?
WTF?
Does our hope
for justice
reside
in a video camera
that shows the horror of
ourselves
to ourselves
in a world on fire?
RIP Mr. Floyd
This is for Hedgewitch’s Friday 55 at Verse Escape.
The acronyms work so well here Mary, to convey the frenzy and curtness of events around this event. Your last lines are chilling, and the camera is unsparing of us, isn’t it? Thanks for adding these 55 words to the eulogy for George Floyd, and for the humanity and tolerance that seems to have died somewhere along the way as well.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you Hedgewitch. xx
LikeLike
And yet, they hemmed and hawed about needing more evidence before they finally arrested ONE of the ex-officers. I guess multi-angle video of public torture and execution is not enough. The cop’s hand in his pocket and the sense that he was enjoying what he was doing were tells that his soul is an empty place.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah… and I always wonder how many times this shit has (and does) happen without the video going public and nothing happens. And even now… as you said.
LikeLike
“That shows ourselves to ourselves…..” The price has come due from the divisive hate speech that has assaulted us this past three and a half years. It has boiled over. I adored Martin Luther King……..my heart grieves.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And long before… but the orange one certainly has made things worse.
LikeLike
Sad and hard to swallow
LikeLiked by 1 person
Questions that we should not have to ask, but yet in this crazy world, we do. Your poem captures the chaos brilliantly Mary.
LikeLiked by 1 person