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Posted on July 16, 2016 by A.H. Scott
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Stain of Indifference
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Stain of indifference
Cotton white beams bright under the blazing sun
Oh no, don’t worry…but, that was yesterday
Clasped between fingers, crop collected
Indifference of bullwhip’s sting detected
Oh no, don’t worry….but, that was yesterday
Evolved from that time of blight, we proclaim it day and night
Yet, stain of indifference is that white flag of surrender
Back to your life, back to work
A few days of grumbling over injustice occurs
With clockwork’s precision we shed a tear and commiserate in how tragic it all is
Oh no, don’t worry…..but, that was yesterday
Then it comes as it does like heaven’s tears raining down
On his back a man lies lifeless on the ground
Would the world have known who he was without that video on the cell phone?
Body cams malfunction
Well, isn’t that grand?
Oh no, don’t worry…..but, that was yesterday
Tragedy like this can’t possibly happen again?
What was seen by all must have been some kind of mistake
Or, is something so dire in the summer wind filled with an oncoming heartbreak
Cotton callin’ from fields far away
White fabric stained with crimson as sun beams through car window
Can you hear it now?
Oh no, don’t worry….but, that was yesterday
Man moans as he takes his last breath
Can you see him now?
Steel held with a death grip in hand and pointing at her with command
Peacemaker claiming a righteous stand
Oh no, don’t worry…but that was yesterday
Innocence of babe ripped away as she sits in back seat
Imagine what she saw
Imagine what she heard
Imagine at such a tender age to console her mother she had to find the right word
Oh no, don’t worry….but, that was yesterday
Imagine as she grows
Who knows? Who knows?
Maybe that stain of indifference is now etched in her heart
A new generation seeing yesterday as today and tomorrow
Those who are silent in these interesting times, won’t have reason or rhyme
Who is mattered and who is not becomes a call and response if we cannot see our fellow human beings as ourselves
Political pariahs blame the victim as they always do
Yet, each of us has a stake in uniting together, too
In between the particles of black and white it is ever so clear
Stain of indifference to the fabric of humanity’s core it will tear
Judgment from towers of white is faulted upon sin for those who have never walked in the skin another has lived in
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About The Author: A.H. Scott is a poet based in New York City and frequent contributor to Tony Ward Studio. To read additional poetry by A. H. Scott, go here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/a-h-scott-drawn/
Photography by Tony Ward, House of Prayer, Portraits. Copyright 1980.