Poem: A LIFE SHORT-LIVED
Editor's note: The following poem is written in memory of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Black child fatally shot in his Florida neighborhood in 2012. His killer, George Zimmerman, stood trial for second-degree murder and manslaughter 10 years ago this week. He was later acquitted.
When is enough, enough?
Of hatred and violence,
and all the crazy stuff.
We see Parents and Children,
at war with each other.
The war on drugs
and ostracizing others.
That do not look like,
our sister or brother.
Hate and poverty continue to prevail.
With riches for some,
and limits for others.
How do we continue to live,
with our sisters and brothers?
For some, the world is a desolate place,
filled with hopelessness and despair.
In America, the greatest land on earth.
It is written in the Holy Book
“That the meek shall inherit the earth."
If the world continues,
with the hatred spewed out
out, from the rulers that reign.
With people like
George Zimmerman and lawmen
caught up in their desire for
recognition and fame.
Then God's words,
may seem to be in vain.
The world must not continue,
as a world deranged.
Filled with hypocrisy and pain.
Love is a powerful tool,
A gift from God for us to use.
to make this world a better place.
Let us not withhold our love,
and disrespect our brethren,
because of the color of their skin?
or because of being the "Other.”
Whom we do not even try to understand.
Trayvon Martin did not deserve to die.
A young man who walked the street,
only to perish.
Accused of looking through the windows,
that he passed by.
Stalked by George Zimmerman,
seeking glory and revenge.
On a young boy that
did not look like him.
Let us all come together as one.
Liberty and justice withheld from none.
This is the way the battle is won.
Let the cross be a beacon.
Of light for everyone.
Of God's love for us,
He gave His only son!
The battle is not yet lost.
We must ask ourselves.
How to heal the wounds,
of a broken world,
filled with hypocrisy.
And the crazy stuff.
Dorothy Dempsey is a senior citizen who loves to write. She thanks God for allowing her to share this gift through published articles in The St. Louis American, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Belleville News, St. Louis Catholic Review, and in various books.