The judge wields the gavel
Pounding it on the scarred table
Craaaack,
The sound landing hard
On our sensitized hearing.
We hold our breath,
Terrible silence descends.
The prosecution rests,
We wait restlessly,
The verdict is pronounced
The hush thickens.
Every Muslim, Jew, Christian,
Black, Indian, Chicano,
Guilty, guilty, guilty
For daring to exist,
For straining to survive.
Cheers ring out
As the lynching mob moves in
Giddily slapping their comrades’ backs,
Amassing atop the mountains of ashes
Jostling over their clean, easy kill.
As bowed, chained tolerance is led away
Sucking in its tumultuous passing
Assassinated freedom,
Brotherhood,
Unity of faiths,
Unity of people.
A void looms, dotted with the remainder
Of their scattered ashes.
Our fear rises,
Waves of despair threatening to drown us.
Seeking an escape from the inescapable
Choking and gagging,
We head out the door,
Gulping, gasping,
Breathe in the stench of ashes.
Will the tides of change bring forth a rebirth?
