An Innocent Kid

An innocent kid
goes to the store
to buy
a bag of skittles and
a can of soda
until a guy named
Zimmerman
a self appointed
racist vigilante
decides to put
a bullet into his heart
for the crime of
walking the streets
of his own neighborhood
while being young and black

Like OJ
Zimmerman gets
a fair trial
that acquits him
of all charges on
the grounds of
stand your ground
and self defense

For some the verdict
is deserved
for others the verdict
is a perversion of
justice
six of one and
a half dozen of
the other and
for the rest of us
watching this travesty
of a trial unfold
on live TV
it's all well and good
unless the kid
happens to be yours and
you happen to be
his father and
his mother
Trayvon Martin
R.I.P.

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2013