A Poem for George Floyd

A poem I wrote about the murder of George Floyd, dedicated to my cousin Christopher who died during the COVID-19 lockdown in the US. The poem is inspired by Whitey’s on the Moon:

George Floyd died under a policemans’ boot

And whitey’s on the space station 

We got so angry our pain drove us to loot

And whitey’s on the space station 

We held raised hands and screamed “Please Don’t Shoot”

And whitey’s on the space station 

We realized it’s time to pull Racism out at its Roots

And whitey’s on the space station 

We hit the streets to heal our wounds

with clinched fists 

And whitey’s on the space station 

We knew in our hearts 

We must Resist 

And whitey’s on the space station 

Resist the Hate

Ode to the S.C.S.C

I began to find my way 

while listening to the mystical magic of King Sunny Ade

Longing for sleepless Saturday nights 

and endless Sunday sunrises

When I felt young 

when we were young 

when life felt new 

when I felt new

When all the doors felt open 

and everyone smiled and life smelled good and fresh 

and without guilt and shame and longing 

for the past

When the past felt less important then the future

Or the idea of a future felt so bright we welcomed the dawn and the light 

even from our afternoon sleepy-eyed dream sleep awake 

and onto the next dawn dancefloor of smoke and laughter

and sweet cigar wrapped madness  

looked dreary-eyed into the endless summer nights of our teenage Heaven 

etching our names into the magnificently debaucherous New York Ethereal Dawn 

and young smiles that opened the gates of Heaven 

and had God say:

You’ll be back.

Go enjoy the sunlight with deep breaths and wide open hearts