Poem: When hatred is a blinding force

In the usual manner

Someone called the police

A black man was seen misbehaving

A black man was put on the arrow’s path

The police arrived

Minutes started ticking

Like death, they came to bring sorrow

A quick glance and the black man was sentenced

Not to one but seven bullets on the back

The streets of Kenosha witnessed another slaying of justice

Like silent assassins, the police are killing black men one by one

Like rabid dogs, they are not restrained by the human cry

As if George Floyd’s death was not painful enough

They opened fire without hesitation

The intent was to kill a black man

The threat of a black man was beyond the human mechanisms of conflict resolution

The black man had to die to restore peace

In a barrage of bullets

A young black man was left paralyzed

A son, brother, father, cousin was maimed for life

A man named Jacob Blake was shot in cold blood

In that instant, the whole of the black community was tortured

Anger, frustration and a hundreds of years of pain was awakened

In a moment of anguish, protesters came from all walks of life

To pour their disgust in the streets of Kenosha

The rest of the world looks on with disbelief

How many more black men have to die?

Before the force of hatred is extinguished

And humanity is restored

How many police officers are willing to go this route?

Only time will tell

©

Kenneth Maswabi