Floyd under the cop's knees
Pleaded twelve times,
Twelve times to breathe
He asked for the cheap air
But the cop was unfair
He denied him the oxygen
The free gift of the Lord
And continued to press on the spinal cord
And beneath, Floyd could not afford
His soul began to leak from the body
Slowly leaking from his body
And gasping for the last breath,
He saw his creeping death
He was forced to the ground
Uttering a fading sound
But the cop continued to press on his neck
While another cop by the side
Showing all the pride
In his official American suit
Marching up and down in his heavy boot
Playing with his gun on his waist,
Ready to shoot
Under the witness of the whole American nation
The man lost his soul
For no good reason
But for the blackness of his face
That was all the case
Oh. My Lord. Bless all of us
And bless the black human race
It is a pity to lose your soul
For mere pigmentation
Under the eye of the laws
of the biggest nation
Masters of the earth! !
So Floyd who was an athlete,
And who was smart, friendly and tall
Lost his soul
Because of the color of his face
And because of the color of your face;
Here you may lose your case
And because of the color of your eye
Here you may simply die
For mere bad reason,
Not for real treason
But of the fear, of mere lack of air
You may run short of breath
And face your death
(cont.) 1 - p.s. some of my race-related poems: Southern Hospitality In Years Gone By? ..... [serious And Silly; Racial Prejudice; Short; A Cautionary Tale] Hard..... [girlhood To Old Age; Life; Family; Racial Discord; Marriage; Very Long] (cont.)
" But of the fear of the lack of air You may run short of breath" these lines stump me a bit i.e. i don't understand " But...air" . Otherwise, i found the poem enjoyable, if one can use " enjoyable" for a poem portraying tragedy. I have some poems on PH pertaining esp. to 'black people'. this poem to MyPoemList, planning to share with others on PH later. bri ;)
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
One more from me: Prejudiced? Who? Me? ? .....[personal; Human Nature; Racial Prejudice] Poem by Bri Edwards Ahmed & others: PLEASE READ MY Poet's Notes for the poem if you ever read it. Thanks, bri :)