I Am (Kneeling) Poem by Eric Cockrell

i am, become...
i am forgiveness,
wanted, prayed for, needed,
in heart and action...
i am the blood of those
you killed crying out,
in the name of God and humanity!
i am the action done with foreknowledge,
the action done without intent.
and even worse the inaction,
that turns the head and closes the eyes.

i am the earth gasping with death,
crying out to her children.
i am your children, and
your children's children...
starving at your feet!

i am the people of color
you killed without remorse...
and the poor of all colors you flush.
i am the young boys and girls
you sell into slavery,
on every darkened corner.

i am the young men you trained
and sent to die...
to feed your war machine!
i am the working class bartered away
in the game of oil and dominion...

the memory of your parents and grandparents,
all they fought and stood for
sold like trinkets on the block.
the words of freedom, of Thomas Jefferson,
whose grave you now defile...

i am the weeping that has no tears,
that tears you inside out.
i am the hurt that covers you
with shadows and agony,
that makes you sick to your soul.

i am numb with silence,
struck blind, struck down...
i am America kneeling,
i am, become...