to Baltimore, to Wolf Blitzer, and to White America

You are suggesting broken windows are worse than broken spines.

Deray Mckesson when Wolf Blitzer of CNN said, “… I just wanna hear you say that there should be peaceful protests, not violent protests…in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King.”

To Baltimore,

what do you remember of Martin Luther King?

when white mouthpieces use his name to defend supremacy

there is ringing in my ears

do you hear it?

above the sirens

I heard that one of your own, Freddie Gray Jr. 

was taken into custody

folded and pocketed 

on April 12th, 2015

like the switchblade 

they documented as the cause of his arrest

I heard that it was one hour

until your son was in a coma

spine severed

three vertebrae fractured

larynx injured

it was one week

                                       until he had no breath

what do we remember of black people’s bodies swinging in the trees 

and do you think they look an awful lot like black people taken by police?

Baltimore, I heard you follow the big city trend

that 70% of your police officers live outside of city limits

10% live beyond state lines

what do they know of your people?

their backbones hold up strong

they have to be for Freddie Grey 

To Wolf Blitzer,

don’t you dare think

to call for peace

what do you call peace

don’t ask for peaceful protests

unless you’re also begging for answers
don't ask for peaceful protests
unless you're also begging

for the lives of our black brothers and sisters

to be given back

for Freddie Gray’s spine to be mended
unless you are willing to blow your own breath

back into his body

what do you remember of black people’s bodies swinging in the trees 

and do you think they look an awful lot like black people taken by police?

I just want to hear you say your sorry

Sorry for reporting on broken windows

when there have been broken spines

broken lives

To White America and to Myself,

what do you remember of black people’s bodies swinging in the trees

do you see the similarities?

do you understand what you are doing 

when you report on cracks in glass

and blazes in cars

do you see how you are missing the point

                          you are missing the point

White America, don’t you dare applaud Toya Graham for “beating” her son

if she hadn’t done it

we would have

we would have
we have

what do you remember of that

what do you remember of that