Richard Colson

Richard Colson Poems

The Best Poem Of Richard Colson

Shotgun By Javon Johnson

when the state decides to murder its

next black child do not go gentle do not

hold hands and sing we shall overcome do

not turn the other cheek pray but remind

them of the shotgun in your throat

tell them there will be no more do not

tell the mother everything will be okay

it will not her chest will be an empty

rum Barrel a broken whiskey bottle and

over some gospel song she will manage to

go on black folks seem to always do but

honestly who should have to go on like

this

the father will try to be strong he will

fight back tears in public he will cry

in a back room or in a basement or

somewhere else safe like that he will

probably fall asleep listening to Donnie

or Roberta or Nina or someone else safe

like that reimagined the vigils think

about the irony and cutting down yet

another flower to honor that child

beautiful memory pay close attention to

when the state says this is a time for

peace they are admitting when they fired

the gun it was clearly a time of war do

not go gentle do not go into that night

pray but remind them of the shotgun in

your throat become the monster they

always thought you were show them your

fangs your claws your anger the pain the

rage the hurts this hurts it hurts

when the state decides to

murder its next black child remind them

of the whips of the chains of the church

bombings of the lynching the four little

black girls remind them of the white

hoods the burning crosses dogs and water

hose a police batons remind them of the

shotgun and all the ways this hurts

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