Black Lives Yellow Paint

#poetry
#blacklivesmatter
 
There is a red stain  
3 drops of yellow on her shoe    
  
through her mask    
the smell of fresh paint    
a hint of yesterday’s pepper spray    
and coffee bean in her labored breath  
  
She hasn’t gotten much sleep since...  
  
the red stain    
the white chalk    
them blue bastards    
and orange filth    
 
There are 3 drops of yellow on her shoe    
calluses from picket signs on her hands  
foot sores from marching through streets    
 
There is a red stain
a tear in each eye
prayer beads in her pocket
and Voter forms in her backpack  
 
you can’t see it  
but it’s the first time she smiled since...  
her son died  
her son was murdered*    
  
her SON  
 
She came to write a message  
 
For brown mothers
with yellow paint    
making brutality transparent    
  
  “BLACK LIVES MATTER”  
  
IG: Nourish_Cruz