The unwilling martyr
IT WAS horrible to see, a cop killing a Black man,
It was brutal because, he did all that anyone can,
To beg and plead for help, to breathe the breath of life, While a symbol of privilege and power killed him, it cut me like a knife.
It’s alleged he passed a $20 bill, that was counterfeit,
He may or may not have known, perhaps he didn’t cheat.
But they called the cops anyway, to deal with this minor incident,
To discipline and arrest him, was their malicious intent.
No one witnessed overt resistance, from the victim-to-be,
Quietly handcuffed and led away, it all looked normal to me.
But then he was summarily restrained, prostrate in the street,
Held down by three White cops, by neck, torso and his feet.
Hands in shackles behind him, face pressed into the ground,
Reminiscent of a time, when slavery was still around.
The forces of White authority, on legs, torso and neck,
No mercy was he shown, not even the tiniest speck.
He begged with all sincerity, he said he couldn’t breathe,
But they kept up the pressure, they gave him no ease.
What manner of people were those, to see a man in pain,
Pleading for his life, immobile and helpless, yet continue to restrain?
The pointed knee of a wicked cop, in his fragile neck was held,
While many citizens pleaded for his life, mine eyes with tears were welled.
He begged until he could no more, his raspy voice did wane,
He tried to move his weakened head, in spite of all the pain.
It was six minutes of eternal Hell, until no movement did he make,
Unconscious, yeah unto death, his heart they did break.
But the cop’s knee pressed even longer, two and a half minutes more,
The cop’s pride grew even stronger, seems like he settled a score.
To press a knee into the neck, of anything alive,
Takes a special brand of evil, a devilspawned drive,
To hurt and kill without a care, for what your victim feels,
Reminds me of Gestapo criminals, who crushed skulls beneath their heels.
The cop ignored the cries of bystanders, forced to keep away,
He calmly killed his victim, as if it were just another day.
When the limp body, of George Floyd, was removed from the scene,
No sign of concern or remorse from Derek Chauvin, could anyone glean.
This was more than a murder, of a shackled and helpless Black man,
It speaks volumes about a system that empowers the Caucasian.
In a land with so many freedoms, it’s very hard to believe,
That George was denied his freedom, to simply try to breathe.
Slavery days are officially over, well, that’s what the law books say,
But slavery exists for many Black people, each and every day.
We were never given the promised start, to an emancipated life,
Then they stacked the system against us, filling our lives with strife.
Once branded with hot iron, a symbol of property someone owned,
Forever branded by a colour, thick lips, broad nose and a woolly crown.
The equality of all races, is a flagrant lie for sure,
They couldn’t kill a dog by kneeling on its neck, was a man less than a cur?
There’s nothing in our favour, the system has been skewed,
The pressure of race and poverty are why so many youths come unglued.
To protect and serve or maim and kill, to whom do these relate?
It depends on your fortune of birth, that’s what determines your fate.
We must continue to agitate, it’s full time that we’re truly free,
From ignorance, unfairness and cruelty, in a biased society.
One day there’ll be no distinctions, we’ll all be one, you’ll see,
A peaceful world for all of us, living as one humanity.