#saveoursons #originalpoetry

My ODE to George.

The first night of your trial I stood waiting for my son to return home.

The cops showed up first after stopping him for running.

My heart jumped outside of my chest as I struggled to prepare myself for the worst.

As he does every night,

he was running

Running in his own neighborhood.

Running at night because as a black boy He knows that black men who run in the daytime get chased and murdered.

So he runs to feel freedom in the dark of the night.

Stopped just minutes from his home by four police vehicles.

That’s 4 x 2 officers approaching a 19 year old boy who wanted to run but by the grace of God stood still.

Anxiety. Heart racing. Traumatized. Sweating. Sweating. Breathing.

Refusing the courtesy ride home in the back of the police car.

He was innocent.

No apologies for being accused of fitting the description of someone who was running and not doing anything but fitting the description of every black boy profiled.

A black boy running at night.

The cops told me that he wasn’t running when they stopped him. Thank God, I thought.

Because black boys who run get murdered.

So today I feel sad for you and all of the children we’ve lost to racism.

Today I selfishly thank you.

Thank you George for your life because it may have saved the life of my son.

A black boy who just wanted to breathe fresh air.

A black boy who just wants to feel freedom.

I pray for him.

I honor You.

You couldn’t breathe but he will breathe and run and stop and take breath and return home again today

I pray .

~ M. Tonita Austin aka Toni Love

written on the second anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. 5.25.22

Reposted:

MAD POETS SOCIETY . Join us tonight for the next Livin’ on Luck reading at 7 pm! We will feature Pat Kelly, Toni Love, and Francesco Pasqualino. Open mic will follow hosted by Brooke Palma. To register, use the link below. See you there! Registration Link: https://wcupa.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0udu-srzkrH9MkU0-RXt2oPzi1gB9giaND?fbclid=IwAR0S58sEyLeH2zARcRshO0mkZv0lSfzBDaXuLypAu1WDa0QYqKQLZzxsDIQ Pat Kelly is a writer from Harrisburg. He writes poetry and fiction that explores the dark fringes of humanity and its impact on time and memory. He is currently working on his first collection of poetry, Buried Litanies, which is both a means of personal therapy and a voice to his repressed experiences with childhood sexual abuse.

Tonita Austin also known as “Toni Love” is a gifted poet, singer, activist, and writer born in West Philadelphia. While attending Columbia University, Tonita was a student of Amiri Baraka and performed in Ntozake Shange’s “For Colored Girls” as the Lady in Orange. Her writing is influenced by both experiences. She is a contributor to the anthology The Black Body and featured poet in the 2018 and 2020 Winter/Fall edition of the Philadelphia Arts and Urban Literary magazine. The Restoration EP is her first published recording; Toni’s Room is her first published book. Toni currently resides in Media,PA

Francesco Pasqualino is a restauranteur and writer living in Pittsburgh, PA. Francesco has supported many artistic groups including The International Poetry Forum, The Hillman Center for Performing Arts, and The Mad Poets Society, He has had the honor of studying with Ted Kooser and Mary Karr. His writing appears in Voices in Italian Americana, Mad Poets Review, Main Street Rag, and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. You’ll find his culinary insights on Attenzione! A Writer’s Journal on his restaurant’s website, pasqualinos.com. He has also shared his family recipes as an invited guest on WQED public television. Mad Poets Society · P.O. Box 1248 · Media, Pa 19063 · USA

Tag: #saveoursons #originalpoetry

My ODE to George (Original Poetry)

Toni Love featuring at the PA Mad Poet Society virtual reading TONIGHT. Don’t go mad, write poetry! ❤

Not One – Original poetry