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Issue 5 Poetry

“If you stood there and watched, you’re a terrible cop”

I was given the advice to include more concrete imagery or metaphors early in my poem, so as to help ground it more. The ending is strong, but the beginning can seem abstract. One suggestion was to include a chant or slogan from the George Floyd protests, which is what inspired my poem. I decided to make one of the chants my title, which also serves as a sort of foreword too.

Omniscient.
You claim to be.
Preeminent amongst all others,
Yet can’t you see?

Ignorance is bliss,
Or so you contend,
A dangerous game
Of willful pretend.

Omniscient.
It dances on your tongue,
To a grievous melody
That can’t go unsung.

Your knowledge is limited,
Subdued by a chain,
Wholly incapable
Of understanding their pain.

Omniscient.
You claim to be.
Preeminent,
Amongst all others,
Yet can’t you see?

Your silence is deadly,
A hostile foe.
A vicious antagonist.
The new Jim Crow.