There was blood evidence, and still
the culprit got away. There was surveillance
footage, a positive ID. There was a smoking
revolver. We know who did it. There was blood
on his shoes. There were fingerprints
on the trigger. There were eyewitnesses.
There were multiple videos. There was power
of the press. Attorneys were involved. It was
a done deal, an open and shut case. It
was justice or bust. The blood was on
the wall, a message was written in the empty
street. There were no sidewalks. There
was no way to abide. It was an abomination,
an outrage. The people were outraged. This is
not the way lives are supposed to be. This is
a free world, a free country, a free one walking,
a free America. Free America. Free all
who walk therein. No man is created
unequal. We are all women on the face
of the earth. We walk in beauty in the shadow
of the police. All hail the barrage of gunfire
upon us. All notice and hail, the hail of blood
this time.
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Excerpted from The BreakBeat Poets, Vol. 4: Latinext, a poetry anthology by Haymarket Books.
