BLACK GIFT: A Poem for Perseverance

Black Gift

Black man

Black gift

Black hair

Black neck and nose

Black lips that mouthed

the breath of life, only his mama knows

Black ears

Black fears

Black eyes that were closed

blood was shed, that through all colors flows

Black Lives Matter

Black cries

Black and white patrols

we’ll know peace when we know justice, as the saying goes

Black ghosts

Black halos

Black countless cost

an endless foreign currency, a legacy of loss

Black Days

Black Nights

Black Lynchings no more

one more life lost, before settling old scores

Black love

Black magic

Black rainbow

cascading chants of people, black, white, and more

Black art

Black inspiration

Black dedication to the cause

painting and marching the streets to give the system pause

Black man

Black fate

Black and in the ground

in death he was lost

but in the same we were found

we were given the conviction

we were given the courage

to chance a new start

in death he became the artist

and we became the art

We have heard a lot of news and seen many images of George Floyd. We must not let our senses be dulled by the deluge of his story and others. The above image, is one of the more artful renditions of George Floyd I have seen on a t-shirt and it inspired me to offer a reflection, a poem for perseverance. His likeness is made up of attributes that people who knew him recalled, attributes otherwise disguised by anonymity. In the case of the officers who killed him, his humanity was disguised by blind and callous hatred.

This image reminds me of how close life is to art. We ought to approach one another in openness, with the faith that we will more than likely see into something limitless, and have the opportunity to embrace and encourage a sense of wonder and possibility, the majesty of which, we will only understand over time. In a way, we have been gifted that opportunity in spite of George Floyd’s death. We may owe more to Mr. Floyd than either he or we will ever know. We have been given a chance to figure out how to LIVE ON together.