i was in Georgetown today & i saw some protesters.
no more than fifty & they were all so…angry.
they were on bikes & on foot & on skateboards.
they were a raging but peaceful procession
of multicolored bodies & flags. they were
all so beautiful. some were so animated.
some of them blank faced & thin lipped.
some of them were so loud my ear drums rang
with every chant they spewed from their lips.
they wanted my mom to honk her horn in support.
i told her to listen to their request & then i cheered for them.
i clapped for them. but i really wanted to cry with them.
to scream with them. to be with them. to stand with them
to hold them. to tell them that i’m just as scared as they are.
i’m just as angry as they are.
in that moment i loved them & everything they stood for.
i admired their courage, their bravery, the way they acted as if
they weren’t being followed by the very thing most of them fear.
i saw cops trolling them down the street. herding them like cattle.
watching them with beady eyes. scowls and all. i was just waiting
for something to happen. something that would change all of our
lives collectively forever. something like a gunshot. a murder.
another black body lying on hot pavement…absolutely breathless.