A Reflection in Real Time

8 minutes 46 seconds
Of breath
Of life
Of squealing
Pleading

8 minutes 46 seconds
Of senseless violence played out on video for the world to feel and see and hear

Begging
For breath
For life
For momma

Books were sold, pledges made, corporate statements paraded on social media

Like
Badges of honor
Bandages for hemorrhaging

Attempting to
Stop the Pain
Defund the Police
Make sense of the criminal act of murder in a calm pose with hand in pockets, chest rising and falling as breath flows freely while beneath him the weight of his knees crushed the airways of a man deemed

Inhumane
Worthless
A thug, A criminal

Not somebody’s son
Daddy
Brother
Cousin
Uncle who wouldn’t make it home for dinner

What did you feel watching someone kill?
Real time, not Hollywood
Where did the sensations land in your body?

What did you learn reading all those books?
Real action, not Never-never Land
Where did those words take root?

If you were to turn toward your pain
For 8 uncontested minutes
And 46 seconds

What words of gratitude could you offer?

One year ago in a string of days
Our lives were upended in so many ways
How has that chaos been a gift to you?

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