Thursday, July 16, 2020

Thirty Heroes

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GEORGE FLOYD SERIES



Thirty Heroes

To be named an American hero
should be an honor that outlasts time
To be named an American hero
by the worst president in history
is something less than honor

How would Frederick Douglass feel
knowing that this president speaks
the language of the confederacy?

How would MLK feel knowing
this president has welcomed
white supremacy to his fold
and legitimized the Klan?

There are no native Americans
on the president’s list of heroes
There are no Asians or Chicanos
though some are “good people”
There are no scientists on the list
No artists poets or resistance leaders
To not be named is a badge of honor

The mendacity of this man
to think that he can dictate
American values and American heroes
is unbounded in the chronicles of time

We shall choose our own heroes
and you shall not be among them

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