Snail-Time
(For George Floyd)
©May 27th, 2020
By Vijaya Sundaram
I’m almost afraid
To say how very
Sad
Angry
Enraged
Stunned
Heartbroken
Despairing
Hopeless
Grief-stricken
I am,
Because, then,
Someone will come along,
And say,
“Cheer up.”
But how can I (cheer up)
When a man died with a knee to his neck –
A black man
With a knee to his neck,
And a white man
With a heart filled with darkness
Kneed that neck?
How can I cheer up? How can I?
Will there be an end to this?
Can there be an end?
Are we just smiling,
Eating our chips, drinking our lemonade,
Making silly memes, pretending to ourselves
That our little corner of Normal
Is safe?
When faced with the face of rage and despair,
Will we curl up into our little shells,
Pull in our antennae,
And go to sleep,
Hoping the ocean will pull us back into her waves,
And will rock us slowly, back and forth,
Back and forth, as we settle slowly
To the bottom of the ocean floor,
Dissolve into little cells over time,
And start all over again?
Will we have have that chance?
Will George Floyd’s breath
Mingle with ours, as we walk this earth?
Will we hold a miniscule atom
Of him in our lungs,
And will he emerge in song?
Will he emerge in change?
Will he tumble along the deep
And his shell will touch ours
As we tumble along when our time comes?
And will our cells hold all grief,
And refuse to be reborn?
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