Ferguson
Whitewalls better,
blackwalls cheaper.
White collar
has fines.
Inner city
does time.
Michael Brown
Trayvon Martin,
Eric Garner
scream
not fair using color
to judge our crime.
Like wind before thunder
do not blunder
on all being equal
cause a bullet
buys a seat
in the back of the hearst.
Tires get slashed
when others feel inferior.
Best create
a balance,
and all do time
for a similar crime.
*
Publisher’s note: As we have seen in the events of recent days, there are many innocent lives victimized by fear, racism and hatred — the police as well. Heartfelt thoughts and prayers to everyone touched by the events of Ferguson, New York, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and all over the country where these kinds of events continue to occur
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Marc Livanos has been published in Zylophone Band, Poetry Journal 2014 Book 11, and Creative with Words. His poem “Eight Ball” was performed as a choral piece at NYU Steinhardt’s Music and Performing Arts Profession on May 19th, 2013. Upcoming publications include Poet’s Art, FreeXpresSion, The Pink Chameleon on Line and Westward Quarterly.
so thought provoking and timely
Thank you. I think we miss an opportunity here to get at the root causes, and to actually implement changes. It’s time for more than discussion.
so thought provoking and timely
Thank you. I think we miss an opportunity here to get at the root causes, and to actually implement changes. It’s time for more than discussion.
I love the poem and the photo. My favorite line is “White collar has fines, Inner city does time.” Very nicely done. I agree it’s time to address the issue. This is a good start.
I love the poem and the photo. My favorite line is “White collar has fines, Inner city does time.” Very nicely done. I agree it’s time to address the issue. This is a good start.