masked

Hang it off your bloodied ear
Wrap it around your broken jaw
I know it’s hard to breathe in,
especially with a knee on your neck.

Replace the filter once
the fibers no longer catch
your strangled cries for
Momma.

Don’t let the crimson
droplets make contact,
let them soak the inside
of your face covering.

It doubles as a blindfold,
when the cadavers of
black youths become
too much to bear.

When torchlights flood the
street, devils in khakis march
in the night, use it to
hide your rage.*

When their eyes are watching
God, their warm blood pooling
on cold concrete, did it matter
if they wore their fucking masks?

Fuck COVID-19, America has
its own pandemic,
400 years strong.