On Bended Knee

A bended knee. A silent protest, planned
to echo like a shout across the land.
A shout to rend the silences that veil
the chokehold and the shot, the shadowed trail
that leads back through the years, to bloody hands

that wielded bloody whips. A soundless gale
of grief for every death-marked street, each jail-
cell “suicide.” Does murder not demand
a bended knee?

Now rank on rank with linking arms and hands
they kneel and bow their heads. No reprimands,
no threats or insults can reweight the scales.
Praise to the one who began this warrior’s tale
and showed the world how tall a man can stand
on bended knee.

For Colin Kaepernick

Available! High-Voltage Lines, Knocking from Inside