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reflections on a summer of national reckoning

his eyes fill with tears

as the sirens draw near

their familiar sound

both cacophonous and clear


he holds up his hands

a stone statue of dread

knowing for certain

what lies ahead


the uniformed vultures

approach with their guns

he remembers his wife

he remembers his sons


vitriolic fireworks

spew from their jaws

a lethal explosion

with no rational cause


his skin seals his fate

senseless and swift

like so many others

his life was a gift


black lives matter!

don’t give up the fight

step out of the darkness

and into the light