in broad dayliGht black moms look grieving

a poem in response to Facebook comments

they have made hell

a home, on earth.

camera captures breath.

concrete captures body.

this is NOTHING

new.

yanking the limbs of breathless,

bleeding bodies behind backs.

i, too, yell commands to the deceased

the hole(y),

they seldom respond accordingly.

that is not a crime—

the yelling or the dying.

the shooting—that is the sin.

my mother says,

if you have a gun

you’ll shoot a gun.

so, i don’t have a gun

i think …

if you have a pen

you will shoot a pen.

i never thought a bullet

could write this many poems.

they do not sweat

when they grab their gun.

i do not sweat

when i grab my pen.

the difference is in our bullets