Eunice HeathTate

a short poem

i am going to write a poem today
a short poem
a timeless poem
one that will expedite time
and let you slip away
before i am awakened
from this mental craving

if it’s the only thing i do today
i am going to write a small poem
to put love on notice
that i will not go quietly
into that place
where the wretched retire
when the lights go out

i poem that
reeks of love
taste of love
feels like love
love like love
a short
intense
mood-changing
life-altering
string of words
that will play
tic-tac-toe
on your mind
makes you an addict
to my pen stroke

i mean it

i am going
to write
a poem
today
to let others know
that i have toiled
in that common soil
but if love is a fire
i’d rather perish
than escape

silent murders

where are you
little rilya wilson
hope you’re somewhere
hope you did not meet the same fate as

21-month old briyonna jean-noel of miami-dade
(killed/mother’s boyfriend charged)
2-year old jonathan flam of hillsborough county
(killed/mother’s boyfriend charged)
james "jami" cotter in fort myers
(found buried in a shallow grave)
2-year old joshua saccone of palm beach
(beaten to death/mother’s missing boyfriend suspected)

the many unnamed
the not-yet-named
the ones discarded
tossed in a canal
neglected
called tragedies
the ones held captive for sexual pleasures
the ones searching for a friendly face
a hand to hold and never let go

where are you little rilya
not at the bottom of a florida canal
not buried in a shallow unmark grave
in a backyard        in the woods
        please not again
not in some septic tank
not in the sewer

tell me who bears the blame
for this recurrent destruction
wounded mothers
damaged fathers
uncaring foster parents
an overburdened system
overworked social workers
underpaid teachers
corrupted politicians
unconcern neighbors

we are telling others
how to live        how to think
how to dream        how to hope
we preach freedom
civil rights        human rights
women’s right        gay rights
lesbian rights        animal rights

we are spending millions
fighting cuba for its children
while florida’s treasures are decaying
randomly abandoned
intentionally ignored
lost    battered

where are you
little-now-5-year old rilya wilson
sure hope     you’re         somewhere
living        laughing    loving
getting love

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© 2005 by Eunice Tate