JUSTIFIED RAGES OF RECKONING

How are citizens

supposed to react

when neighbors are slain

because they’re black

Pleas in gasps

fill streets in dissent,

demanding answers

by pounding cement

Despite Malcolms and Martins,

Michaels and Queens,

headway withers

if Georges can’t breathe

That we still need reminders

who matters is pathetic,

so fists rise up

to reinforce rhetoric

Boulevards are axles

bold with a message,

painfully painted

to inspire the vested

Vigils and vigilantes

compete for a cause,

both want awareness

in honor of laws

Cynics join hands

for rational request,

abundant in distrust

from inherent unrest

Justified rages of reckoning;

a consequence of critical questioning

Activists are dismissed

and smoked out,

from imposed enforcement

to establish clout

The militant maximize

voltage in crowds,

boasting angst

from boys too proud

So a turnout is viewed

different by each side;

some see patriots,

others see crime

A lack of atonement

makes legions erupt,

they don’t want revenge,

just what is just