Blue on black. again and yet again
the airways blocked will be his bane,
can rubber bullets pause our pain?
The blue had knelt but never prayed
the black had prayed but had to pay,
how can teargas make us less afraid?
We need to say his name, George Floyd
forget the knee of hate and fill the void
with love, for rich and unemployed.
For Grace at dVerse, today it’s dVerse OLN. I also write this for Frank’s triplets that I missed.
June 11, 2020
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Good one, B. I just read a woman’s poem, it was a Shadorma. I told her she reminded me of you, writing all manner of forms of poetry that I have never heard of.
Excellent post, Bjorn. I truly believe in the words of George Floyd’s 9-year old daughter: “My daddy changed the world!” But how very sad to lose his life in the process. We are in the midst of a paradigm shift and real change is finally occurring.
Nice tripleting. This is a poem to read aloud, I think. It has a good pacy rhythm and a strong message.
Nice last two lines.
A terrific tribute poem, and the form is interesting, AAA BBB, CCC.
The triplet form is perfect for your punchy protest poem, Björn. I never liked that ‘taking the knee’ thing, it’s so passive-aggressive. It is so sad and unnecessary that it takes a death to open people’s eyes.
This is such a poignant tribute, Bjorn! Brilliant execution of the form as well 💝
I love the form and powerful message Bjorn. Specially the last stanza:
We need to say his name, George Floyd
forget the knee of hate and fill the void
with love, for rich and unemployed.
His is a name that will not be forgotten.
May George Floyd’s shocking death be the catalyst that at last brings about an end to such injustice. Gripping write, Bjorn.
Your title is perfect. The middle stanza jumps out here.
Can’t be said enough, Bjorn.
Those words “I can’t breathe” are now embedded in our lives. (K)
Your contrasts throughout the poem are very effective!
A sad blot on all of us, when something like this happens!
kaykuala
The blue had knelt but never prayed
the black had prayed but had to pay,
how can teargas make us less afraid?
The voice of those at the receiving end will defiantly overcome all the difficulties and obstacles
Hank
The heartache and call to action is so well stated here. Thank you for amplifying this!!
Perfectly penned my friend.
The world is black and blue. I especially like the middle stanza.
Our collective knees are bruised
from the wear of prayer and protest
Sometimes we are called to stand…
…Sometimes we are called
to put down the unbearable
to carry an innocent
and claim their right
to breathe
George Floyd’s name will never be forgotten now. Let’s hope his senseless, violent death leads to real change across the globe.
Good to read your poem after a while, Bjorn. Don’t see you around on PU. I read this article recently and it reminded me of your librarian – a collection I hope you will release soon! https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/25/world/asia/afghanistan-poet-haidari-wujodi.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
Hello, I have had cut down a bit on my blogging… time seems to pass so quickly and I work so hard at work so I have stopped writing during the weekends… so at the moment I keep myself mostly at dVerse. I think this is how I see my librarian, only a bit more of a recluse. I like that people came to him I think my librarian would love visitors.