By Joyal Jacob
I can’t breathe…
That heavy knee,
Those nine minutes of strangulation,
His plea for help,
Still echoes in the epicardium
“I can’t breathe, please…
Oh Mamma…”, that groaning ceased
Melanin, not in his complexion,
But in the hearts of those
Who pinned him to the ground.
Those skins, pale and black,
Concealed veins that contained
Blood of the same colour,
Forgot the cops.
Amidst this pandemic
That makes men breathless
Exists the virus of racism,
In a nation that claims
To be the world police.
“I just wanna live”
Is the cry of every man
Who longs for a space to live
But fails to find it
Caste, Colour or Creed
Politics, Power or Sex
So many are the heavy knees
That press your neck to the ground
And make you gasp.
Need to rise brethren,
Not in a way of riots or vandalism
But in an openness of the heart to fraternity.
George Floyd- will this be
The last name in the row?
I can’t breathe,
Can you?
