Street Sounds Poem by Barry Middleton

they chant 'black lives matter'
tear gas drifts protesters scatter

the cops said he had a gun
another mother lost a son

we wage a bogus war on drugs
the racist code a war on 'thugs'

there's a rumble in the street
stumbling home on weary feet

on the other side of town
we sip a drink at sundown

we stop the children at the border
the court already out of order

too many kids who cannot read
just too many mouths to feed

should we care or fade away
pretending that was yesterday

there's a rumble in the street
stumbling home on weary feet

on the other side of town
the sun already sinking down

gang bangers driving by
don't care where the bullets fly

in the suburb dinners late
kids on molly meet their fate

a generation doomed at birth
is this the legacy of earth

there's a rumble in the street
stumbling home on weary feet

on the other side of town
drink the shame and wash it down

young men cannot find a job
angry voices in a mob

will we ever heed the cry
how many souls may have to die

and when will all at last embrace
one heart one voice one human race

hear the rumble in the street
stumbling home on weary feet

on the hopeless side of town
lock the door or burn it down