tears

anton sterling

silence comes and goes in waves
echoes through the night
in the street a body lay
and the fringes held no light

from sea to shining sea some came
to watch and replay the sight
of another black man conesecrated
in puffs of fear and spite

when is the ocean satisfied
to swallow whole such life
still we watch with callous eyes
and think that we are right

judgment awaits those who wait
feeding leviathan black bites
the storm is coming – reckoning
without option to flee or fight

may your bones become bleached,
rancid and putrid and white
may they be ground into sand, forever forgotten
not even a speck of blight

for the persecuted will gain what you have lost
water that quenches the tide
you cry, “Abraham, send him to me!”
but too great is the divide

turn the ship back, before it’s too late
the murdered already lay tight
but the living remain, your soul in limbo
listen or lose your invite