I heard the word exhilaration
to describe the growing protestation
of brutality in our fractured nation
born of fear of darker pigmentation
and violent enforced segregation
continuous unjust incarceration
what of this masked congregation
demanding justice, not just condemnation
this despair is not of their creation
but a torch passed from our generation
will this be their Kent State situation?
social media fuels exasperation
with the response of this administration
our clergy plead for contemplation
politicians preach failed negotiation
while destruction causes indignation
I wake with fraught anticipation
rapid heartbeat and respiration
there is no price or reparation
to erase memory of the plantation
history’s whip of brutalization
and subsequent marginalization
this year’s events beg memorization
art, song and thoughtful documentation
of how murder served as galvanization
to heal the sins of our civilization
Sherri London Pastolove,
Westbury
Editor’s note: The writer is the author of “Cowgirls,” a collection of poetry.
