Lynching

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I wrote this poem last year after the strangulation of George Floyd. I decided it was time to release it after I saw the arrest of a lieutenant in Virginia this morning. This was a sad, really sad moment in our nations history. So much needs to change and I am not a black man.

“Lynching” Black man floating in space Knotted rope about his face Crosses burning White sheets chanting Black man squirming Blue knee choking Buildings burning Dark nights looming A noose from a tree A boot and a knee A black man dead No one lead Gutters vomiting Jesus faltering Canisters of tears Scattering fears Memories from the past Recall the last Nothing changed Our nation estranged Horrible brutality Watching reality A hang man’s stage Millions enraged Dusty roads A hang man’s noose Burning streets A black man pleading So much the same It just insane Equal justice No longer trusted Civil unrest A nation stressed Yet we care When tempers flare Doing it right With all our might We all must listen As rattlesnakes hissen It begins in the mind You learn to be kind We are all blood inside Where love resides It is not right That I am white And am not black But my soul is cracked I FEEL YOUR PAIN.... As George was slain I watched it all His terrible fall Again and Again Again and Again A henchman calling A nation bleeding Again and Again Again and Again Crosses burning Mindsets never learning It was a lynching Lon 6/1/2020

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L Milton Hankins

Date: 4/12/2021 8:16:00 AM

Yes, it was, Lon, and I have been so saddened by the senseless shooting of black men. It was hard to believe that a policeman would treat one of our men in uniform (and he was in uniform) so crassly and callously!

Lon Wartman
Date: 4/14/2021 8:05:00 AM

My sentiments exactly I wonder when we will treat all as equals. As poets we must rise to the occasion and denounce these sad, very sad happenings.