A sonnet a day for 2014 - day 16 - Florida trees

His mother's and father's hearts lay lorn and
Empty on the courtroom steps after trial
A white man can murder a black boy, leave stand
Where is the justice? We scream and they smile

O the heavy young black men carry now
O the heavy, black parents try to teach
O how they expect us to bend and bow
How many the people we try to reach

We still have our spirits though wailing hearts
Though dripping eyes we still show up to fight
We speak with our votes, fists, poetry, art
O heavy the burden of our long plight

Our ancestors fought and we for our young
We remember the trees from which we swung