31
Two cold hard digits on the screen
haunt my heart my mind goes numb.
How can stolen lives be counted
and simply listed 31?
A yellow stat - as if to hide
a man, a dad, a mom or son
whom God so loved (and parents too)
now buried 'neath a 31.
Hanging teddies now bear witness
to blade or knife or car or gun
that took Noah, Charles, and Marquis
all together 31.
In Raleigh, Frayser, Hickory Hill
The Heights, Orange Mound, Binghampton
South Memphis, Midtown and Downtown
together lost our 31.
"My brother's keeper?" asked the ghost
of Cain. He walks my street at dawn
as the blood of Abel calls from the ground
to join these precious 31.
O God, my neighbors and my friends
are slain in streets under moon and sun.
Stretch out your hand to stop this war
and keep the number 31.
These black lives matter, I say, "NO MORE!"
We won't part with 34.
Honestly, I couldn't bear to see
The body count at 33.
Memphis, this is my call to you
Don't let the number be 32.
