She got to wake up the next day
He didn't.
She got to live her life
He didn't.
She got to have her own family
He didn't
She lied
He didn't.
She admitted to the lie -
No repercussions
He was a black boy -
He got murdered
Carolyn Bryant,
A murderer
Emmett Till,
A victim
The courts awarded her due diligence
His family fled in fear, that it'd be repeated
Leaving their home, scared they'd be targeted
Their home a ghost to a child evicted
A system built to allow racism
The senseless, brutal murder of Emmett Till
In 1955 haunts America's consciousness, still.
He's a catalyst for the Civil Rights movement.
His casket left open, a horrific sight; watershed moment.
Mamie Till Mobley demanded and open casket,
to let the world see,
the bloated, beaten body of her baby boy,
who was lynched in Mississippi.
His name was Emmett Till,
a 14 year old black boy,
who came from the state of Illinois.
It was 1955, the Jim Crow laws were very much alive.
They said he was flirting with a white woman in a store.
The facts of the case, the jury chose to ignore.
That a child was murdered,
his body thrown in the Tallahacie River,
a guilty verdict they chose not to deliver.
Over 5 days, more that 50,000 people lined up to see,
what had been done to Mamie Till Mobley's baby.
Mamie's message to the world
was that what happens to any of us,
was everyone's business.
She devoted her new life, her new beginnings,
to civil rights,
to public remembrance of how Emmett died.
an interesting form for sure
interesting and confused
form a quintain from the first line used
for those who like meter, impure
sure to keep me amused
----------
The Emmett has 3 rules:
1. the first line is 5 words
2. in order, each word from the first line becomes the first word of the subsequent lines, producing a quintain
3. the rhyme scheme is abbab, with no requirements concerning meter
Tears embedded
three ring delight
Star-crossed harlequins
pigmented fright
Echoes of laughter
masking false smiles
Greasepainted fantasy
—clowns in denial
(The New Room: July, 2022)
My mind cannot erase the memory of Emmett Till
I often dream about his badly-mutilated body –
The fourteen-year-old Black lad mercilessly beaten
To death … for ostensibly flirting with a white woman.
A victim of the era in which he lived, he was lynched,
But the men who killed him were found “Not Guilty.”
Have we any reason to wonder why Blacks are angry?
The number of cases of Blacks murdered by police
During routine traffic stops, for no reason, astounds,
There is a twisted reason why our prisons are teeming
With young Black men and women, while they are
Only a small minority of the general population --
Prejudice and racism are rampant, indeed systemic,
In America, touted as the land of freedom and justice.
written March 1, 2022
i stand for what you don't cause what i want..i stand for a consciousness of peace and be still when i think of emmett till..i stand for what you don't cause that's what i won't stand for but for a consciousness of peace and be still when i think of emmett till
Chicago native Emmett Till would no longer be alive
after he was lynched in the state of Mississippi in 1955.
Till was on summer vacation in a village called Money.
It's located in the delta region of the river Mississippi.
The fourteen year old was beaten and shot in the head.
His body was dumped in the Tallahatchie River when he was dead.
Till flirted with a white woman in a grocery store, allegedly.
What really happened there remains a bit of a mystery.
The woman's husband and his half brother were the culpable party.
They were acquitted of all charges by an all-white jury.
Since the Constitution protects citizens against double jeopardy,
the two later admitted their guilt in a magazine's story.
This was one of the most infamous events in our history.
I thank wikipedia.org for information I obtained to write this poem
Five lines can make poem.
Lines should not be vile
Can it bring a smile?
Make it simple, wholesome.
Poem is evocative, not a fake’s wile.
Talking to my friend Tom.
To tell him I found this emmet form.
My, it is only five words, not the norm.
Friend, it makes mine look like a marathon
Tom as you can see, similar my thoughts, torn!
The form can be checked out here http://poetscollective.org/poetryforms/emmett/
MOORLAND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Moorland, wilderness, natural beauty, Nature!
Wilderness, from barren to verdant glory.
Natural, prime, if untouched, an untold story.
Beauty, as perceived by human-nature.
Nature, its larder for all and sundry!
Mick E Talbot 2018...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more information on the Emmett poetry, please follow the link, thank you.
#moorland #verdant #wilderness #glory #untouched
Body left dissipated, obliterated,
oh Emmett Till,
Investigators could not tell if it was a human or mutilated road kill,
his eye was gouged from his head,
barbed wire tied around his neck,
all because a caucasian woman,
claimed she didn't get proper respect
oh Emmett Till,
Money Mississippi was the place,
you were not guilty of the case,
but you were guilty of your race,
to much melanin in your face,
Oh Emmett Till,
they say your case changed the land,
apparently not,
ask George Zimmerman,
but in your case the INNOCENT man was named Roy Bryant,
When reporters asked him did he kill you he surely didn't deny it,
Oh Emmett Till,
While you are sitting next to our heavenly father,
tell him to touch our country's heart if he bother,
then we all can have a peaceful space,
my prayer is one day All of God's children,
Become one race...
Emmett was a man of malignant mien
The crazy son of his saint of a mother
A callous hooligan, cruel but keen
Acumen and class matched by no other
Drawn to the drink, and the roll of dice
His devilish deeds brought him ill repute
The world knew well his vanity and vice
But his charisma no man could refute
And many fine women fell to his smile
Emmett tore all of the tears from their eyes
And many men bent knee to his grand guile
His brother alone escaped from the guise
What a man was this, a pirate or prince?
The world has not seen such wickedness since.
I hate knowing you won't be with us much longer.
For our bond has only grown stronger.
Your siblings for Heaven now have depart.
They will forever be in my heart.
I know now it was your disease
That took your siblings with such ease.
Feline leukemia is killing you
And real soon again I will be blue.
In the space of just one week
Death in this house has not been meek.
So my dear Emmett how do I let you go?
More heartache and pain is coming this I know
Fuzzy little balls of fur,
Sleep, stretch, then yawn.
Snuggle up to warmth,
and keep me up 'til dawn.
Eyes that are opening,
and at first they are blue.
Can't wait to see the final color.
I love to gaze at kittens so new.
Each personality shows early,
Lois is needy, and Jasper, smart.
Quagmire is feisty, except for the "goatee",
him and Emmett you can't tell apart.
You all have brought so much joy,
and you take stress away from me.
Even when you're fighting over milk,
you guys are as cute as can be!
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