bare feet pulse
piercing concrete
to the core
of the earth
we stand in silence
Mario gone
Mario gone
Mario Gonzalez
shells rattle
he enters
through the dancer’s
soles
to the top of headdresses, the tallest feathers
up, up, past the
mini van parked in the
driveway
the house closed with
curtains of fear
past the polite execution
in a small minded town that
holds up BLM signs in Victorian windows-
but when George Floyd happens here in Alameda
a high pitched silence
you can’t get out of your ears
the dancers turn
touch the ground
the drum starts and stops
they embody
power
invoking it
from Mario’s struggling body
knee on back
gasping for breath
“We’re going to take care of you Buddy.”
pressed
if he were white
they would have taken him to
Burger King
he rises
and what is left
is a circle
of heart minded people
transformed
in humility
connected to humanity
receiving
the flowers
To support Mario González‘s family go to https://linktr.ee/justice4mariog
Copyright 2021 by Alison Hart
