H. W. Bryce
Grn moni comp of Mar 8/21 –
Now that you have cried freedom and lost
OR And now that you are lost
Now that you have cried freedom and lost,
Now that you have orated,
Now that you have protested,
Stood up to fire hoses and
Rubber bullets, the batterings,
The bruisings, insults and putdowns,
Now that you still hold your head up
With honest pride – more than the
Perpetrators can say, for such brutality
Is not a given for forgiveness –
What now? How can I help?
I cry for your plight
How can I help?
Will a poem in support
Help?
It is written that since George Floyd, 1,300 blacks have died in similar brutal attacks.*
*Susan Ormiston in a CBC news report from ‘the battlefield’ in the USA.
Now that you have cried freedom,
Endured the slings and arrows of
Unkind humans, you still walk
Tall, honorable you, who has been
Singled out for third class citizen,
Classified as unworthy despite
Your stellar service to your country,
Your family, your work.
I cry for your plight. I cry because
You are right, and they are wrong.
They have been gifted with power,
And you have been used. And still
You hold your head up high. Pride
Justified. And although sorely abused,
You teach your children of love and
Of charity, and of peace everlasting.
I honour your valour, your ethics,
Your compassion, your sense of duty.
How you hang in there, riot after riot,
Surely is a lesson in humanity.
Though downtrodden, you still believe.
Such faith. Such strength. I can’t
Help but admire you. I should be
So strong. May your God watch
Over you for now and forever.
God speed. Cry Freedom!
IMAGE: Pixabay
