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Photo by Michael Heuss on Unsplash

Driver beaten and toddler taken
for driving down the wrong street.
Pictures taken for narrative changing
while protesters get knocked off their feet.
An ambulance called when agitated pacing
makes people call the police,
so no charges get filed for bullet-chasing
with seven rounds in the back of someone seeking peace.
Yet a man with a pistol in his lap
can threaten first responders with death
and drive away unscathed. Perhaps
there is a change in the public’s breath.
Ask the man who was licensed to carry, sitting back
that can’t teach his daughter dance steps.
What happened to conversation instead of MRAPs
and tear gas? I ask what happens next?
Pray for the day when freedom
can be enjoyed by all people.
I hope there are days when everyone seeking
equality finds themselves equal.
America is a democracy, not a kingdom
and we should never bend the knee to evil,
and terrorists with weapons should never bring them
to temples, masjids, synagogues, or church steeples.

Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.

Mesro Dhu Rafa'a

George Coles-El, better known as Mesro Dhu Rafa’a, is a poet, writer and graffiti artist. When Mesro is not tutoring GED students and writing, he enjoys role-playing games such as “Dungeons and Dragons” and “Magic, The Gathering,” and writing science fiction and fantasy stories. During this pandemic, Mesro has completed an anthology of writings called Unsung Hero. Mesro Dhu Rafa’a is a pseudonym, which means “stand with the sun, master of the ascendants.” He is incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison in California.