should civil minds believe a man who kills
with callous hand, a boy of seventeen;
who had a right to breathe and walk and dream,
a right denied, his body lifeless, still....
a man who cast his guilt under god's will
and claimed a motive pure, a spirit clean;
yet shot to death his neighbor's son who screamed,
a son whose  dreams will never be fulfilled...
the  scales of  justice swing for all to see
from hills up high to courts and jails near you
where coin and color trump equality...
will justice fair and balanced ever be
for every man who bleeds red, white and blue
to share this dream, this hope, this liberty...?

~ P (Pablo)
(7/22/2013)

while wedding bells
are ringing
and love birds
are singing,
a child is born
in london
and
yet another dies in chicago...

gunned down!

while coffee
is brewing
at starbucks
and dinner
is served
at ray's,
a child cries
in hunger
and
yet another dies in chicago...

gunned down!

while mercury
is rising
in DC
and the heat
win
title #3,
a child abused
cowers
in fear
and
yet another dies in chicago...

gunned down!

while the clock
ticks
on the wall
and senators
scream
down
the hall,
a child
is profiled
in sanford
and
500 die in chicago

gunned down!

~ P
(7/21/2013)

I
hands of justice bleed
into stormy sea of rage;
black boys are drowning.

            II
killer acquitted...
sidewalk the ****** weapon;
trayvon convicted.

           III
a smoking hand gun...
a bullet piercing the night
and a black teen's heart.

          IV
stalked by a stranger...
raindrops and stars bear witness;
he murdered that boy!

           V
the world stopped to see
the ***** hung from a tree
by a blind jury.

          VI
color of justice
bleeds white like cotton and lies,
and chalk around blacks.

~ P
(7/15/2013)

what am I...
if the mere color of my skin
smears fear, suspicion and dread
in the heads of perfect strangers...?

what am I...
if I feel the need to
recede to a sanctuary within  
my very own black skin
allowing the familiar stranger
sharing the elevator
to exhale
and set  her bundle of apprehension,
perceived and imagined,
aside
for the ride...?

what am I...
if I instinctively
hide my black eyes
in the screens
of iphones and ipads
avoiding icontact when isolated
with nervous strangers
lest I inflate the balloon of anxiety
to panicked proportions....?

creating that space of comfort
for all nervous strangers in my life
becomes my obsession...

and I switch lanes
by night
crossing to the other side
of  streets with dim lights
lest I collide head-on
with trepidation personified
in the eyes of perfect strangers...

and I ditch the hoodie
for a crew neck sweater
by abercrombie and fitch
lest some slug with a 9mm gun
profile me as a ****
and defy order, rhyme and reason
to exercise his license to ****
in the still of a rainy night in florida
with no credible witness
in sight...

what am I...?

~ P
(7/18/2013)

the earth shook
last night
sending a tremor
through six feet of
dirt, wreath and wood
to my rotting corpse
beneath

and I rolled over

for 16 months
I  tried to
rest in peace
as my spirit wandered
restlessly
but last night
even the stoic palms
shuddered in disbelief

and I rolled over

I was just
going home....ma,
talking
on the phone...ma,
when a '*******'
with a gun
shot be down...ma
now maggots and fleas
are crunching
my bones ...ma

and the '*******' is free???

maybe if
I were white
like lanza and holmes
I'd be left alone,
not profiled;
given a pass,
to commit
mass homicides,
not take a bullet
through the heart

for being black!!!

I was born in '95
the year 168 died
in OKC
and 1 million men marched
in DC
but last night
justice exploded
in sanford

and
I
rolled
over...

~ P