Man Down

by Essence Bryant, literary editor

The press says there’s been a man shot down

four cops

three shots

two minutes

one corpse

The press says that he was 17 years old

not a man, but a boy

brought up oppressed,

shot down in aggressive force

hood up

heart stopped

and they’ll mop

the blood with excuses

excusing the death

but forgiving the red hand

that took his last breath

The press says he was just standing his ground

while people, parents, cops, children were just standing around

to watch the fight

which consisted of

“hands up, keep them where I can see them!”

only to be tackled down,

beaten down,

running out of air

The press says that he had a gun

and planned on shooting up the place

simply for fun

but he only carried a beating heart and a cell phone

which, despite the bright screen that was

mistaken for an unseen armory

or so they like to say

The press says they’ll get away again

tell the courts it was just self-defense

but only the dead boy knows

the oppressor grows

and the public will join to together

to root and loot in remembrance of the boy

who died because he wanted to place a call

The press says his mothers going through depression

lost her son

losing the fight

and try as she might

she’ll never get the justice her little boy would deserve

all because of cops consciously being perverse.

all the boys and girls whose lives had to end

was just a little target practice to them

The press says there’s been a man shot down

families altered forever

communities coming together

to withstand the other man

and take place on the stand

to testify and penalize the law

in the country where they kill because they

can

and will walk free

because there’s no one who can

stop them

without facing the repercussions of favoring a race

The press says there’s been a man shot down

four cops

three shots

two minutes

one corpse