A Thousand Miles Away Poem by Bharati Nayak
A Thousand Miles Away
A thousand miles away
George Floyd died
Of police brutality
His last words
Resonate here,
In my country
In my drawing room
In personal discussions
On T.V. and in newspapers
In breathless debates
Within protests and movements.
Why?
Because it is a rage of hundreds of years
Pressed under a knee
A simmering fire
That was waiting to conflagrate
A restless smoke
Suffocating people for years.
Was it a single man's murder?
No,
The way the brute police officer
Pressed his knee
On the neck of an unarmed black man
Was to show his power
To crush Floyd
Like a worthless being -
Not caring a damn
About his life.
The manner
In which the other police officers
Stood by
Showed how callous, how ruthless
They were, not caring a bit
When an innocent black man was dying.
‘I can't breathe, I can't breathe'
The last words of Floyd
Resonate in every corner of our world
Questioning
The sanity of humankind.
Part 2 Exactly as the Godse psyche in the in the high-caste Hindus of India. Godse is not dead, but nurtured in their hearts and kept alive. Now he was woken up like Dracula and is alive and kicking in UP and elsewhere. The atrocities against dalits and Muslims are part of this conspiracy.
The incident of murder of George Floyd is not accidental. The Psyche of average American white has been brainwashed by the Trump administration for the past four years to do such heinous acts. The kkk was not dead, just sleeping. Now, resurrected. Contd
This is an outrageous act of cruelty, callousness and ruthlessness. An innocent man dying due to the brutality of police. You are absolutely right, Bharati, in questioning the sanity of mankind. It may have happened thousands of miles away, but it is still a deplorable act of racism that needs to be condemned. Thank you Bharati for your strong thoughts of this incident and the poem......5 stars
Great poem about a murder that affected almost all of the world. Excellent
Oy! I accidentally sent my unfinished message. Anyway, Trump is gone, and that is good. May the future bring healing. Blessings, Bharati. -Glen
I'm glad, Bharati, to learn this tragedy has reached India, and glad to see your compassion. As you likely know, the hatred that smoldered here has been stoked by our president. At least he's been fired from office
I am happy that you were able to respond to the call of your conscience and write this poem. I too was overwhelmed with sadness seeing the video clip of George Floyd's brutal death under the knee of a racist Policeman, but I couldn't write a poem on it. Please edit your poem so as to reduce the gap between the lines. The poem, so well written, deserves full marks and I gladly give it: 5 Stars *****! I recommend this poem to be selected as the 'Member Poem of the Day' for any day soon.
A ghastly act of brutality far away from our land has shaken a poet's heart here and evoked this beautiful poem! My heartfelt thanks to the poetess for rising to the occasion and condemning an utterly insane act. Indeed, she has spoken on all our behalf. '‘I can't breathe, I can't breathe' The last words of Floyd Resonate in every corner of our world Questioning The sanity of humankind' - Yes, the words still resonate in my ears and the resonance makes me sad.
Sometimes in the name of religion, sometimes in the name name of skin color, sometimes for nothing but man has been man for centuries. I am happy that Bharati Nayak is raising her voice against this brutality.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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12/5/2025 5:41:35 AM # 1.0.0
Part 3 Such a relevant issue is the theme of this wonderful poem. I think it can ignite many a discerning hearts against the evil designs of wayward politicians. Congratulations, Bharathi