No Angels

I am trying my best
Not to get angry but
That dragon is begging
To get loose
And burn everything
To hell
See in my youth
There was a selfish
Truth that would have
Set him free
And told the world
That the casualties
That were sacrificed
Were slaughtered
For one purpose
War

Now being older
I soothe my
Wrath with doses
Of temperance
As this new exercise
Comes to mind
I shake my left
And wiggle it
Turning
My palms
Down and up
And then I
Inhale and exhale
For now it works
I am distracted
But
I am coming back to that thought
They don't understand
Ferguson, Trayvon, Jena 6
Malice Green et.al.

Guess what I do!
See,
On the back of
My soul I
Still have the
Foot prints
From the Baltimore
Police
I know their friend
Billy has put splinters
In my a*s along
Six fractured ribs

This is America and I
Have the right
Not to be an Angel
Nor be perfect
Life, liberty and
Due process
Is still inalienable
No matter the
circumstances

Meanwhile BOLA
Gives them
The right to profile
Me
Yet as a vet they forget
That I fought for this country

From Temple Terrace
Jacksonville, Hollywood, Florida
Forest Acres and Columbia
South Carolina
Denver, Sheridan, Englewood
Colorado
Lafayette, Louisiana
Terrell and Dallas Texas
Augusta and Alpharetta
Georgia
Baltimore and Anne Arundel County,
Maryland
Maryland State Police
Park Police near D.C.

Ask me about
Police brutality
Ask me why Ferguson
Is burning
You are now learning
Its
The right to be
The right to live
No matter if
We are negative
Or positive

Reviews

[AprilRN1210]

people quickly forget vets, their sacrifices, their service when they return home.. people forget that we are all just people sometimes, they justify their stereotyping, their profiling, their trying to fit others into little categorized "boxes" and step on those considered lesser.. we all make mistakes.. we all have rights.. we all have feelings... as a nurse, we sometimes have to put "walls up", make ourselves numb to be able to survive some of the situations we are put into, the care we must give, and I cannot imagine in the military what walls must be built.. what frame of mind it takes sometimes to do what it is that you have to do.. that isn't something that is easily forgotten, a switch that you can just turn off, a box of memories that you can place on a shelf and never open... another emotionally charged write that has deep meaning... well done.

[Jerome F Knox III pseudonym Nefarious J. Dorsey]

Thanks for understanding..you can't imagine how your helped me keep it together... It is the little acts of kindness that saves life..that cliff was looking good...

[AprilRN1210]

I really hope you know that there are those of us that care, and are here if you need.. my inbox is always open... and you are more than welcome.. it is the compassion extended that makes us human... ((hugs))

[jacob erin-cilberto]

"this is America and i have the right not to be perfect"

i wish everyone could understand this....perfect in one's eyes is different from perfect in another's"

we should be free from expectations and labels. And Vet or not...that is all forgotten when prejudice taints the minds and eyes of those who still live back in the 19th century.

[Jerome F Knox III pseudonym Nefarious J. Dorsey]

Well said...poets are the social thermometers to which the fallacies and ills of society are spoken of through writings. When that thermometer is not clear then someone, anyone must make acuity possible. Sometimes passion in truth can be overbearing and to use your words"this is America and I have the right not to be perfect" We can agree to disagree as long as we do respectfully and intellectually.

[Jerome F Knox III pseud..]

All of those places listed is where I have had run ins with the police...

[AaronFreitas]

I agree... many people in this country forget those who fight for us and fight for this country to keep us safe. It's a lil off topic but after watching American Sniper I was extremely irritated by people (actors and/or famous people) saying that Chris Kyle was a coward and a psycho. People forget so easily that a man like him, a man like you go to wars, serve in the military so that we have the freedom we do. So that we can live a safe life, a free life. People forget the cost of that and forget about those that fight to protect what we have. I love your poem. I love the honesty in it and I love that it poured straight out your heart!

[Jerome F Knox III pseudonym Nefarious J. Dorsey]

Thank so much...these little acts of kindness are pulling me from the edge..these reviews are vital to me..they keep me sane...

[AaronFreitas]

We got your back. Never forget for every a*****e idiot out there.... there are hundreds of people if not thousands that live, love and respect our veterans, our country and our freedom!

[Jerome F Knox III pseudonym Nefarious J. Dorsey]

Thank you I was feeling some kind of way today and it wasn't good....thank you, thank you

[AaronFreitas]

No problem keep your head high!