It’s 28 April 2020
and my husband shows me a video
of his cousin growling
from the pit of his lungs
at his two-year-old son:
You’re arrested for being brown.
The son runs, a question
mark for a face.
You’re arrested for being brown.
His father seizes him
playfully, then sets him free.
You’re arrested for being brown
over and over
You’re arrested for being brown,
until the son gets what he is
supposed to do: bend over
the bed with his hands behind
his back, even before he gets grabbed.
My husband laughs. I write
a poem; can only regurgitate:
You’re arrested for being brown.
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