declaration

People who were born into slavery 

Were still alive when I was born 

Not so very long ago

Not so far removed from current events. 

Native Americans with treaty rights to their land

Belonging to them by right in the first place 

Stolen even more recently 

Forced onto reservations to live in poverty. 

Abolition remains unfinished business 

Reparations yet another broken promise 

Slavery reconstructed through imprisonment 

Democracy deconstructed through disenfranchisement.

The way things are today has not changed really

The systemic racism behind the professed ideals

The ongoing history of genocide and betrayal 

White man speaks with forked tongue. 

Japanese immigrants sent to concentration camps 

Yesterday's news overtaken by the latest outrage 

Latinx immigrant children separated from their parents 

Placed in cages like dangerous animals. 

On the Fourth of July I do not celebrate 

Living in a place where freedom does not ring

Where people of color live in fear

There can be no truth and reconciliation possible.

Hanks Pond July 4, 2020

album

Laurelwood July 2, 2020

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answering back

When you get right down to it

Some people who should know better 

Support the police even now 

Despite all the images of brutality and murder.

A neighbor put up a sign on their lawn

Provoking us to put signs in our windows 

Facing them answering back 

Black Lives Matter.  Stop Police Violence. 

Probably someone they know asked them 

To put up the sign with the blue line across 

Praising cops who assault defenseless protestors

As heroes bravely defending us.

Probably they have watched too many cop shows

Making them out to be the good guys

Protecting us from all the bad people everywhere 

Even as they break the law interrogating suspects.

Perhaps they have a relative who is a cop

Or the person who asked them is related to a cop

Who chooses to take the money and go against us

Serving this system of injustice and oppression.

Because it's the PBA who distributed their sign

Giving it away free to try to get a show of support

In our neighborhood where almost everyone is white 

Making it the best place around to confront racism.

Where we are privileged to be safe from profiling

But not from offensive racist displays and remarks

We were happy to see a huge Black Lives Matter sign

On the lawn across from where we know a cop lives.