America the Free

[bravenak]

Twas a time of despair
A breathless sigh,
a strangled cry
A whispered prayer


Untaxed loosies on the low
Swisher sweets on the floor


Abhorrent no knock warrant
Stop and frisk,
cuff the wrist
A taste of torment


Young boy playing in the park
A bullet hits the mark


Mothers of black boys cry
They stain his name,
ignore her pain
A life song unfinished


Fumbled gun in the stairwell
A father fell, her mother’s hell


Your spacious skies tell big lies
Of amber waves through
teargas haze


From sea to Shining sea


Purple mountains and
separate fountains
Bear fruits of pain
and violent shame


America the Free

[sheshe2]

1. Oh Gawd...

That hurts because it is the damn truth, tears because the needlessly lost lives hurt my soul. It should hurt Americas soul as well.

Thank you bravenak, you just summed it up in a few eloquent words.

[bravenak]

2. Thank you, girl.

I'm have problems processing everything. I've gotten my feeling hurt so much lately. Hoping for better days.

[sheshe2]

4. We will get a better ending,

and we will do it together.

bravenak

[bravenak]

6. I think so too.

We'll look back and laugh at the fools who say it can't be done.

[brer cat]

3. "A life song unfinished."

Lordy, bravenak, you can make the tears flow. I am glad you found your voice...so many of us are at a loss for words these days.

K&R

[bravenak]

7. Thank you.

I was speechless for a few days too. I just cannot take the justifications anymore.
We can at least support each other and the protesters by being present online to combat the negativity. I am feeling for Eric Garner's wife right now and all of the women who lost their sons. We are all in this together.

[brer cat]

9. Amen.

[malokvale77]

5. Beautiful and so sorrowful. (nt)

[bravenak]

8. Thank you.nt

[Cha]

10. ..

[bravenak]

11. I feel the same way.

[Cha]

12. ..

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

13. Great, love it...

Last edited Mon Dec 8, 2014, 12:11 PM - Edit history (1)

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Was in Seattle protest last night...have pics and video somewhere, get to it later


"what's with the riot gear, there aint no riot here"

Noticed that all Seattle PD have helmet cameras, will it matter?

[bravenak]

16. The cameras better matter!!!

Other people need to film cops whenever they see them making contact with citizens. We don't need no Judge Dredds.

[bravenak]

25. Post the pics up when you get them together.

I want to see the crowd...

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

26. I am terrible at this, I have pics and video and my Samsung S5

I email the pic to my email account and then not sure how to get it from there to here

The video is too large to email and when I try and cut it down i cant figure that out either, i have it on my youtube but i dont want everybody knowing who i am so that wont work

How do you get a pic from your gmail or phone to this page?

[bravenak]

27. I use photobucket, it's free.

1. Get photobucket account
2. Upload photos/videos to photo bucket
3. Photo bucket creates a link for each photo.
4. Copy the link from photobucket, paste the link to DU op.

That should work. You can link your photobucket to facebook for ease of access and to transfer photos from photobucket.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

28. i have that too but you can identify the person who's account it comes from

so i wont use that, i am being stalked now by someone because I made that mistake on a political board

[bravenak]

30. That's terrible!!

There's a computer help and support group here. You should ask them, they're pretty smart.

[logosoco]

14. thank you for putting this into such beautiful words. nt

[bravenak]

15. Thank you for reading it.

[sabrina 1]

17. Very beautiful, Bravenak!

[bravenak]

18. Thank you Sabrina.

Maybe in the future our Songs to America will be more positive. I feel bad for the melancholy feeling of my poems. I tried to write somethings sweet. Never happens.

[sabrina 1]

19. Songs and poems tell the story for future generations when, hopefully, things will be .

better.

But even then, people should not forget and beautiful, melancholy songs remind us of both the dark side of human nature and the potential to be so much better.

I'm glad you wrote it. Your children, hopefully in a better future, will be able to read it.

On the positive side, I don't think this time things are going to just go away. Something happened that is different. I am hoping, a turning point that will be a step towards the future that should have happened a long time ago.

[bravenak]

20. That is so true Sabrina.

I do not think this is going to go away... People are starting to wake up and smell the police state. And it smells like death and misery. And many realize that they could very easily be next. I love seeing the unity, the broad spectrum of people. Young, old, colorful jewels of humanity, reaching out empathetically to other souls. The best part is the unity.

[sabrina 1]

22. Yes, right now there are protests going on in Berkeley and Oakland.

Operation Ferguson retweeted
Bill ?@DefendWallSt 12h12 hours ago
Protester in Northern Oakland hurls a tear gas canister back at California Highway Patrol.

There have been clashes with the police. People have had it and you are right, I do think people are beginning to realize that if this can happen to ANY US citizen, it can happen to them.

That tweet above alone, has been retweeted over 500 times already this morning which means that untold numbers of people have seen it.

I hope no one has been hurt but they are all very courageous to be out there every day facing arrest and it is very encouraging.

[bravenak]

24. I am so thankful for social media.

Damn. More teargas haze.

That is a shame, I feel like our institutions are at war with the people. Without social,media we would be blind to much of what is going on. I think the police have been out of control in many places for so long it has become normal. That's over now. Our public servants should not torment the public. They are acting like the mafia. Many deartments should have rico charges brought against them for organized crime, along with the prosecutors who allow them to commit crimes with impunity.

[sabrina 1]

32. Yes, you are right. If it were not for social media we wouldn't know anything about what is

going on. I have been trying to find out what is happening in Berkeley and Oakland because last night I read that it was getting pretty violent.

I think there is another demonstration outside the DOJ today asking for them to intervene.

I just received this tweet on my feed, but not sure if it is from today or last night. Just look at all those police!!

Mona Eltahawy ?@monaeltahawy Dec 7
#Berkeley protests ##Ferguson #ICantBreathe pic.twitter.com/MIjzLN47P0

And this one will break your heart but gives us hope at the same time.

Dwayne David Paul ?@DwayneDavidPaul Dec 3
This was #EricGarner and his life mattered. This was #EricGarner and his death matters.

[bravenak]

33. That is so scary, the way they look like an occupying force.

And it did make me cry. He looked so happy and in love. And they stole that from him for no damn reason. People offer me a dollar for a cigarette a few times a week. I usually take it and give them a couple. Just to recoup my loss. Did not know I was a criminal for that. Or that i needed a death sentence.

[HappyMe]

21. A very elegant way to express a sad truth.

You are a good poet.

[bravenak]

23. Thank you Happy.nt

[2naSalit]

29. Awesome eloquence!!

I, too, have been and still am speechless about the events and revelations of this year, especially the most recent few months... your words speak for many of us, thank you!

[bravenak]

31. Thank you!!

It's been a rough road for many of us this year. I felt we needed a few poems to mark the time of our struggles.