I heard about L.A.

I was in Freeport when they

called the guard in

They threw tear gas at

innocent people while

I ordered a coke

I visited the black church

that had been burned down

to the ground for the third time

by people from the shore

and the school that was forced 

to segregate but the people burned 

the white school down so the kids

could go back together

Now they dye indigo there

but not the local kind

It was harvested out of

existence just like the

oysters sitting right

under the tide

When I saw a car being set a blaze

I wondered why I’d been put

so far away. As if I could help

or put out the fire. I could only

sit by and wait on an island

in South Carolina 

When I saw the marines

being sent in I called a friend

who lived close by

Are you okay? Is everything alright?

Are they tearing down your door?

Did they call a curfew for the night?

She told me

Don’t listen to what you hear 

Don’t believe what you see

I walked to school this morning

and I will for the rest of the week