An Ode To The Loss Boys (Trayvon, Sean, & Emmett Till) Poem by Candis Johnson

It seems lately
Inspiration has been the key
To unlocking frustration
I’ve been attuned
To the case, you know
Trayvon Martin
The one who was murdered
Someone’s brother, homie, son
I hadn’t intended to write about this
Because it hits too close to home
Besides, the pain of it wraps around my neck
Trying to suffocate the disbelief
I have a brother about his age
Lord knows I’d be just sick
Having found myself in a situation like this
My heart goes out to his family
Especially his mom
Mainly because that is a love
Nobody can unbind
As I sit here now
I think about history
Past and present
It started way back when
With Emmett Till
All he was doing was being a kid
He whistled at a girl
who happened to be white
So history says
Trayvon Martin
Was being seventeen
He’d gone to the store to buy
Some Skittles, he’d asked a friend
About the NBA
All Star game
Who knows maybe one day he planned to play
What was his crime?
I’ve assessed the situation
I know what the problem is,
Ya’ll can hashtag this
#TeamMediocrity
Just watch this
Today, everybody has something to prove
Because they’ve made room for just
“Being okay”
It’s piled so high
There’s no room
For anything else
Let me ask ya’ll something
Do you remember Sean Bell?
He wasn’t a boy
Just being a boy
No in fact,
He was a man
Doing what many men today won’t do
He’d made a commitment to make his woman
His wife
The cops who shot him
Obviously bathed in mediocrity
That night
They saw what they thought
Was an opportunity
To show how well
They “protect and serve”
Actually, they just proved
They weren’t as good
As they just knew they were
As quiet as it’s kept
They are in fact worse
A man can’t live a long
Prosperous life with malice in his heart
It will soon crumble
It is sad that you three and millions more
Had to be the catalyst for change
But in due time I’d hope
My ode will suffice
Sean, Emmett, and Trayvon
Justice is coming in God’s time

By Candis Johnson