Baltimore in the spring: A poem inspired by Freddie Gray's death and its aftermath

I sit in my downtown office

I sit in my suburban home

And I wonder….

What is it that I can offer?

That would give the oppressed some hope

And knowledge that I believe in their goodness

That there are wondrous possibilities

Each day their eyelids open

Still crusty from their dreams

As they wake in crumbling houses

Travel on late buses

Daydream in struggling schools

And in their quest for jobs

I would like to meet them

On their concrete lawns

In their proud or boarded houses

With their promising children

Their loving smiles

And untapped potential

But I am afraid…

But I am afraid…

Afraid of the guns

Afraid of people on drugs

Afraid of my inability to speak

or hear their true language

Afraid of my shame

And their hatred of me

So I sit in my office

I sit in my suburban home

I sit and I pray……

While the city burns

Bob Smith