For the very first time
I watched that crime.
of stealing from
the hopeful youth
their breath
their dreams
their futures indeed
and just because
they’re
Black.
For the very first time
I watched that crime
Took me back
To 1991
When I first
watched that crime
on TV, horrified.
I watched that crime
Inching my way
Into the certain pain
Of watching another
Mother of a
Black Brother being
Murdered, killed
With no mercy
Crying out for his mother.

I watched that crime
And as a mother
Again I cried
For the pain
Of the mothers
Of Black sons.
As we add another
Name to the long
List of names
Of our sons who have
Died just because
They’re Black.
By the hands
Of the blue culture.
I watched that crime
I watched that beating
I watched that killing
Of Tyre Nichols.
I watched that crime
For the very first time
Again.