do we let them
murder our future?
do we let them
arm us with fear
against each other?
when they kill our youth
they say they hate
the earth
and we who love it
and its hope
rise up
in the name
of Trayvon
beautiful boy
so full of life
everyone’s child
snuffed out
our cries
heard everywhere
our tears
our hearts
on fire
with flames
that will burn
the old and rotten
down
a system of
hate and greed
collapsing and
moribund
time for it to go
and be forgotten
on this earth
like a bad dream
that caused so much real
suffering
no not another one!
each infinite
precious loss
we can’t spare
a single soul
you can’t have
another one
murdered by
your hateful fear-
mongering
you zombie hordes
of future-haters
you are dead
and Trayvon Martin
lives!
By Sarah Menefee
San Francisco poet and organizer Sarah Menefee is a long-time homeless rights activist. She is the Homeless Desk on the People’s Tribune Editorial Board, and a founding member of such organizations as the San Francisco Union of the Homeless, Homes Not Jails and 'First they came for the homeless’. Known for her poetry about the streets, her latest collections are Winter Rose, Sign and Holy Eel.
