POETRY

Disparities

A poem about racism

Photo by Nicole Baster on Unsplash

~for Tamir Rice

white boys take machine guns to coffee shops,
an openly carried, penis envy pride,
while black boys with their toys get shot by the cops.

white boys fear not the black baton that drops
on shins or skulls for failure to comply,
white boys take machine guns to coffee shops.

black boys face danger in simple traffic stops,
their skin is dark with names, brothers who have died,
cause black boys with no toys get shot by the cops.

white boys are tired of race cards, their pitched tent props,
a hood to hide the thuggish face of their crimes.
white boys take murder grins to coffee shops.

black boys know sirens, know the pistol that pops,
they surrender to silence to stay alive,
cause black boys with no toys get choked by the cops.

see, justice is a pail of fresh milk that slops
over its edges, onto shaking hands held high,
white boys take machine guns to coffee shops
while black boys with their toys get shot by the cops.