I wrote the following on May 31, 2020.

The man passed a counterfeit twenty.

That’s what began the whole confrontation with the police,

I watched the four of them in uniform

Keep him down on the pavement with his hands

handcuffed behind his back.

Two officers had him propped against the tire of the squad car,

prone on his stomach

They had their full body weight resting on his legs and torso.

He wasn’t kicking or moving

And the third officer kneeled upon his neck,

In great distress, he cried out for help,

“I can’t breathe, please, I can’t breathe!”

They didn’t stop and ease him up,

But kept him down even after one officer

Told the sergeant kneeling on his neck that he couldn’t feel a pulse.

George Floyd lay prone without a flicker of movement or

Sign of life for two more minutes.

They killed him in broad daylight, with witnesses.

They were filmed while they ended his life.

One other officer stood and watched,

But did nothing to stop this killing.

He’d called for his mother and begged for help,

“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe!”

For the last five nights, young people of America

Have taken to the streets,

Directly confronting officers of the law

With their hands raised

Shouting

“I Can’t Breathe!”

They have come right up against the gates of the White House

demanding to be seen,

heard and not ignored

By President Trump.

He calls them “Thugs” and threatens

“When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

This craven has slaughtered truth with his thumbs.

Doesn’t he realize the building he works in was built by slaves?

Who had dogs loose upon them to keep them from running away.

He doesn’t see why people stop trying to keep three jobs

With wages that don’t pay the rent.

They stopped being the frontline

Showing up at low-paying service jobs

The President declared essential

Because they have no protection

Against Covid-19,

They have no healthcare, and once sick

Can’t work enough hours for money to buy food.

There’s no SNAP program,

The food banks are overwhelmed,

And there’s a chance they might be paid with a counterfeit bill.

If they tried to use it in a store

Would the police come and kill them in broad daylight, too?

The People have stopped doing the President’s bidding.

At night, they won’t obey curfew,

They fill the streets of the city, and every time they encounter

The police, people raise their arms and call out,

“I Can’t Breathe!”

with

The Pain Body of Oppression isn’t contained anymore,

It flares in flames around police cars,

Buildings and glass storefronts shatter.

The hands reach in and take the goods from the stores.

What do people do no salaries, money, or food left in their homes?

When Covid-19 is killing your family, friends, and neighbors?

Why aren’t the cries of the people being heard by the President?

Is he dead from the neck up?

None of this mayhem will bring George Floyd back to life.

High-priced running shoes grabbed from a store won’t balance out any injustices.

Stealing from others when all your hopes are gone

Is desperation gone rancid and eases the suffering of none

I still hear the reverberations of his call for his mother,

His last words still ring out,

“I can’t breathe!

Note: May 7, 2025

Today, people are being arrested by the authorities for deportation. The accusations come, and no chance for due process is given. It was a question about a counterfeit twenty that ended George Floyd’s life. It’s simply a matter of time before another person dies over an altercation about legitimate papers.

I wrote this in honor of George Floyd and with a sincere wish that no other lives are lost.