“they spoke for him (for george floyd)” by Brian Gilmore

they spoke for him (for george floyd)

1. (video)

i do not
doubt
killing.
neck.
knee.
doubt.
breath.
life.
malice.
doubt
i do not.

2. (blood)

the cardiologist made it
plain.
not
drugs
clots.
plain
like
malcolm
fannie
plain
the cardiologist made it.

3. (love)

george was a momma’s boy
said
his
brother,
lover
said
his
lover,
she
said
george was a momma’s boy

4. (george)

not a perfect man, but a man,
george
he
struggled
some
george
he
fell.
rose.
george,
not a perfect man, but a man

5. (us)

a black news channel…
they’re
black
proud
united
they’re
waiting
wanting
demanding
they’re
a black news channel.

6. (race)

defense says george is
brute
strong
savage
dangerous
brute
prone
choked
dead
brute
is george, defense says

7. (george 2)

george floyd is speaking to us today.
them.
professionals.
women.
men.
them.
humanity’s
bouquet.
crying.
them.
today, george floyd is speaking to us.

8. (what they do)

it is not going to work
counselor.
dirty
deeds
transgressions.
counselor.
stop
doing
it
counselor
it isn’t going to work.

9. (justice)

to the jury i yell
ashe’
george
is
human
ashe,
spoken
for,
loved
ashe’,
to the jury i yell

10. (guilty)

hands behind his back,
cuffed.
he
knows.
feeling
cuffed.
feeling
less
than.
cuffed,
hands behind his back.

11. (peace)

i wanted it to go on and on…
justice.
accountability.
public
truth.
justice.
a
beautiful
song,
justice
i want it to go on and on

Brian Gilmore
5/8/2021

________________________

Washington D.C. poet, writer, and law professor, Brian Gilmore, is author of four collections of poetry, including his latest, come see about me, marvin, (Wayne State Press), a 2020 Michigan Notable Books recipient. He has written for The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Progressive Magazine. His 2015 collection, We Didn’t Know Any Gangsters (Cherry Castle Publishing) was an NAACP Image Award nominee and a Hurston-Wright Legacy Award nominee. Gilmore is also a Kimbilio Fellow.

To order come see about me, marvin, go to: WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS

To order We Didn’t Know Any Gangsters, go to: CHERRY CASTLE PUBLISHING