Officers respond to a noise complaint
black man playing music
Officers report
in his own garage
“Black male, dreads, armed with a handgun”
armed with dreads
who opened up
black male dreads
then closed the door
black dread armed
Officer leveled his weapon
dread armed with a handgun
at the man behind the door
“Shots fired, shots fired!”
Bullets splintered wood
Officers reported he had a gun
found unloaded
in his hand
in his back pocket
pointed at them
with no trace of blood or tissue
he must have put it away
before or after the shots
to his gut
and his groin
and his head?
Jury responds to a wrongful death suit
We can’t reach a verdict
Judge responds to jury
Keep trying
Jury responds to judge
who asks for clarification
“If we find minimal negligence…”
I don’t understand
“…can the courts overrule…”
Please clarify
“…monetary amounts …”
Please clarify
“…presented by the jury?”
Please clarify
Poet responds to a four-cent award
Please clarify
Please clarify how
Please clarify how a life is worth four cents
The jury finds
one dollar to the mother
for the funeral
upon preponderance of the evidence
one dollar to each child
for pain and suffering
and loss of parental companionship
victim was under the influence
no line on the worksheet
for the fianceé
and to the question of negligence
99% his own fault
1% due to police
four dollars become four cents
Poet responds to the void
Please
Drinking at home while black is expensive
Please clarify
Listening to music at home while black is expensive
Please clarify how
A stranger’s itchy 9-1-1 finger while black is expensive
Please clarify how a life
If his taxes hadn’t paid for the bullets
Please clarify how a life is worth
they’d probably charge his mother a fee
Please clarify how a life is worth four cents
One more question, your honor:
Did the nine-year-old girl
who saw bullets rip into
her father’s garage
get justice?
Dedicated to Gregory Vaughn Hill, Jr.
READ MORE
Leonard Pitts: Does a black life matter? Yes, it’s worth about four cents, Florida jury decides [Miami Herald]
Jury leaves $4 to family of man killed by sheriff’s deputy, along with many questions [The New York Times]
Tara Campbell is a fiction editor at Barrelhouse and an MFA candidate at American University. Prior publication credits include SmokeLong Quarterly, Masters Review, b(OINK), Booth, Spelk, Jellyfish Review, Strange Horizons, and Poets Reading the News. Her debut novel, TreeVolution, was published in 2016, and her collection, Circe’s Bicycle, was released spring 2018.
Photo of Gregory Vaughn Hill, Jr. and Monique Davis with their daughters, courtesy of the family.
