My daughter tells me
she loves me,
that my arms
are tree trunks.
She climbs them
to reach the future,
where corporations crumble
with the simple whisper
of her voice.
I wish I saw myself
like her—
to have unquestioned
faith in my strength.
But last night
another black boy died
on the news.
His mother’s face
turned to water
under camera lights
and microphones.
Her pain and grief
reached through trees deep
in the universe.
I sat there watching,
holding my daughter—
paralyzed.
READ MORE
These powerful videos use poetry to address high death rates among black children [The Sacramento Bee]
Police killed at least 378 black Americans from the time Colin Kaepernick protested [The Huffington Post]
David M. Taylor teaches at a community college in St. Louis, MO. His work has appeared in various magazines such as Trailer Park Quarterly, Misfit Magazine, Indigent Press A La Carte, Rat’s Ass Review, and Philosophical Idiot. He also has three poetry chapbooks–M&Ms and Other Insignificant Poems, Two Cobras in a Ritual Dance, and Life’s Ramblings.
Image by Daniel McCullough.
