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This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN#/ISBN# issue/book “Question Everything” cc&d, v280 (the February 2018 issue) Order this as a 6"x9" paperback book:  |
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Our Lives Matter
Raymond E. Strawn III
Red and blue lights flash behind me.
My hands are up.
No need to point that gun at me.
I don’t have anything sharp.
Why are you pestering me?
Am I allowed to walk these streets?
I just saw my kids, I’m on my way home.
Why are you judging me because of my clothes?
I can’t get mad or raise my voice.
If I do, they will raise a cross on some dirt,
After they bury me, six feet under.
Watching the news, makes me sick.
Another cop beats a man, for arguing with him.
First Amendment rights.
Freedom of speech.
All I hear is how we need to act right,
Ignoring the politics.
How about the men in blue follow the rules.
Equal protection of law.
Rule of law.
We have rights too.
Or did they not teach about the Bill of Rights in the academies or at school?
Body cameras,
That’s a good start.
Letter of the law,
Now that’s what’s up.
How about absolute instead of reasonable,
When it comes to deadly force.
How about training to defuse conflict,
Instead of gunning us down.
How about accountability and owning up.
Jail time for those who mess up.
Show us you really care, instead of covering up.
Patting me down because the color of my skin.
I wear a hoddie, that’s enough reasonable suspicion.
Wrongful convictions on the rise.
Prison and jails overflow,
Cops continue to lie.
Confessions are coerced.
They no longer read you your rights.
Being falsely arrested is no big deal,
In law enforcement’s eyes.
Judges protect their crime.
Ready to kill off the truth.
Where is the justice, where is our protection?
Who is really looking over law enforcement?
There needs to be change.
It needs to happen now.
Too many bodies are piling up.
Too many innocent ones locked up.
We all make mistakes, it happens to all of us,
But lives are on the line
And we all have to face the consequences.
How come law enforcement is immune to them.
Especially when they can carry guns, 24/7?
