I can’t breathe*

struggling to just stay alive
trapped between lies and alibis
frantically calling out
does anyone hear my pleas? 

stranded on the corner of distrust
caught up in the tragedy of mistrust
lost within the verb to be
why must it always come down to luck? 

torn between seven veils
hidden behind the shroud of tales
pimped on the evening news
am i just another reason to flee? 

responsibility denied, freedom delayed
murder absolved, solicitous duplicity
mundane rehearsals, trivial pursuits
and yet you wonder, still why—
I can’t breathe.

Dr. Rodney Coates
Oxford, Ohio, USA


* Eric Garner, an African American man, was suffocated to death  by a police officer who was arresting him for selling single  cigarettes on the street in Staten Island, New York, USA, last July. He repeated, “I can’t breathe,” eleven times  before he died. A subsequent grand jury did not indict the officer.  “I can’t breathe” has become a rallying cry at protests against the ongoing police brutality directed against U.S. people of color. 


Last modified: 2020-07-02 14:27:35+00