Black and Blue

In broad daylight,
in the middle of the street,
we saw a man whose shirt matched
the colours of the clear blue sky.
He was on bended knees – like a warrior
surrendering to his conqueror and we
almost took pity on him…UNTIL…
we heard the husky and groggy voice of
another man – a black man,
begging, struggling to catch what was
left of his breath under the left KNEE
of the former – firmly compressed on the
latter’s throat.

Saddest part was how the man in blue
remained calm and unruffled during the
act, like he knew he was gonna get away
with it in the worst scenario – like…
Business as usual.

Which begs the question:
Since the system ain’t working
effectively, what’s the life expectancy
for black guys?
46? or 25 MAY-be?

Abu-Yaman writes from northern Nigeria. His poems have appeared in Writers Space Africa, Ann Arbor Review, London Grip Magazine, Daily Trust Newspapers and elsewhere. He tweets @abuu_yaman Read other articles by Abdulrahman M..