Chin Up

On the Ganges river,
Millions gather to bathe,
They'll free themselves from reincarnation,
By running to their grave,

Along with Daunte Wright in the North's Star,
Who knows what happened there?
Stopped for air fresheners on his mirror,
Then shot while Chauvin's trial's still laid bare,

Meanwhile, Somalia faces famine,
From locusts and no rain,
I swear the good news is harder to find,
Laid down beside this pain,

There is one thing,
The human aptitude,
Despite inequities surrounding them,
To still keep up a hopeful attitude.

With Generous Support

There's really no telling,
Who is behind it all,
So many players playing with high stakes,
All too massive to fall,

Their intentions so wrapped in more profit,
Direction moves like wind,
No wonder sometimes they happen to do,
Something good for the mass population,

So maybe it doesn't really matter,
Who is sponsoring who,
If your causes has cause to benefit hem,
It will benefit you.

That's how it is.
Now that you know it is,
Do you play the system as it's played you,
Or tear it down for a new existence?

Minneapolis Dream

Disbanding the police?
Why does that not seem real?
Communities taking care of themselves,
Helping their folks to heal?

Instead of the cops coming to her door,
They'll send social workers,
If she is experiencing mental stress?
But how will the social worker shoot her?

My mind is whirling amidst this new news,
Have they thought of white homes?
If someone looks suspicious on the street,
They'll just be free to roam?

Oh, and the fear!
How will that be doled out?
So many questions that just weren't asked,
Before council voted on this, no doubt.

The Duty Of Leaders

Some people are asking,
How our prime minister,
Can kneel in the middle of a protest,
Against George Floyd's murder,

When he hasn't solved racism right here.
How dare he claim the right?
Before I answer, let me reminisce,
With wisdom of twenty-twenty hindsight,

When a president responded with ire,
To citizen unrest,
With proclamations of indignation,
Spouting force, deadliest.

What if, instead,
He had expressed remorse,
Acknowledged the injustice systemic,
Encouraging all join him on that course?

Next Steps

Things might be calming down,
Is this before the storm?
A standing down of police aggression,
Does not alter the norm,

Somehow demonstration must be second,
To open dialogue,
Put down the tear gas, then hear what is said,
It is not enough to disperse the fog,

The cleared air must be filled with honesty,
Acknowledge what is wrong,
Then back that up with actions that will change,
What first started the throngs,

See, that is all,
Doesn't seem hard, does it?
Of course it requires an acknowledgment,
By millions that racism is systemic.

The Whys

Trump will need many feet,
To stomp out the unrest,
Or play the fastest game of wack-a-mole,
To satisfy his quest,

Of using force to silence citizens,
It's not about riots,
It might be the chance he's been looking for,
To proclaim November's election quits,

He maybe really just shoots from the hip,
With no actual plan,
Some root·in'-toot·in' Buddha Rambo clown,
Emperor of the land.

Or just jealous?
He'd just beaten Covid,
In the headlines after months of tweeting,
Undermined by what Derek Chauvin did.

The Bubble

U.S. anger's rising,
Blowing up on the streets,
Protesting social injustice for blacks,
Defying Trumps' tweets,

Thousands together despite Corona,
This has more importance,
But then, a new spike will arise from this,
Among those with the least life insurance

In a system not engineered to help,
The ones mostly toiling,
At some point all hands will be raised up high,
No, not surrendering,

But in dismay,
For they've had no respite,
Show me another country in the world,
That's facing so much of its people's spite.

The Perfect Storm

It is hard to let go,
In the face of chaos,
A virus clamoring to take us all,
Yet some suffer more loss,

Then in the midst of this, the same old game,
Is played on certain groups,
So they stand up to protest against it,
Only to have to face off against troupes,

Which will exacerbate the pandemic,
Of course, it is worth it,
If this is what it takes to impel change,
Then let us do this shit,

But will things change?
Not a popular ask,
If standing up for yourself does nothing,
Then why bother even wearing a mask?

The Other Illness

What virus killed George Floyd,
In Minneapolis?
The contact trail would not be hard to trace,
Starting with the police,

Causing difficulty breathing in blacks,
Resisting calls to cease,
Others cannot get close enough to help,
Afraid they would contract the same disease,

Death is not diminished with quarantine,
It can break down your doors,
Risks include lack of opportunity,
And chances you'll be poor.

What is the cure?
Nothing's seemed to work, yet,
Compared to it, Covid just can't stand up,
Hundreds of years, countless numbers of deaths.