This is not justice. 
This is dishonorable.
Look at the way you alter
George Floyd’s legacy
It has now become one of violence
And crime

I know you are hurting
Feeling the life crumbling pain 
Of losing someone
Because of an unfair prejudice 
Against African Americans
I understand
I feel for you
I stand with you
But not with your actios
Injustice raids our world
We shall work together
To right this wrong
But not in these ways
Vandalism
Physical fights
Looting
Why?
You not only hurt those
That go against you
But harm your allies along the way

I’m white
I do not know first hand 
The hardships that those of other races face
I cannot even start to pretend to understand
However I can and will
Be empathetic and apologetic
Empathetic to those who suffer every day
Facing challenges 
Just because of skin color

How quick humans are
to jump to conclusions.

We see an image,
neurons fire,
assuming something
every time,
even if we
try not to.

if only we could feel each other's
emotions,
experiences,

Surely
all injustices would
then be corrected--

How tragic it is
that we don't always
feel others' heartache
as our own--

That in itself
should be enough
to make our hearts break
and reach out in an embrace
of love, of listening though
we may not understand,

knowing we cannot
comfort
or apologize enough
for hundreds of years
hundreds of years
of suffering,
of humanity crying out

and being met
with inhuman indifference

humans were given hearts to love

let's not waste them
with more promises

let us do something

On the protests against police brutality in late April and June, 2020
(a modern take on Dudley Randall's "Ballad of Birmingham")

"Mama, why are people marching
and saying we're not free?
Isn't America celebrated for
treating everyone equally?"

"Yes, baby, that is what they say
as we work for and love our country,
But no matter how much we pledge and give,
we're treated differently."

"But mama, what is it about us
that makes people turn colder?
Like when kids don't want to play with me,
And you're scared when we're pulled over."

"I don't know why, baby, I don't know
why they only see in color.
I wish the world was different, so you'd
not cry for it as you grow older."

They saw the protestors march by,
with masks, signs, cameras, phones,
A next-door-neighbor offered a sign,
and said, "You don't stand alone."

The world crumbles around me and I get to watch it fall –
The world turns to hell and I get to watch it burn –

I might plant a tree in the spring.
I'll water it, 
nurture it,
watch it grow.
It'll have shades of green when the world has turned red and brown –
It might be the last thing I plant –
The soil may not even let it grow taller than me,
But I'll still love it –
Because it will listen.
It will listen while the world screams in pain.

The worst thing about being kind is that you expect everyone else to be kind,
and when they're not –
you feel sad and disappointed.
Disappointed because you had faith they would be kind too,
Disappointed because they took your kindness for naïvety,
Sad because they probably hurt someone else even more.

I don't expect everyone on this earth to see eye to eye.
In fact,
that's what makes people so interesting,