White Knee, Black Neck

There’s something wrong with the tree
Said Dr. Kendi
Too much rotten fruit
A plague all its own
Sea to sea

Big city, rural town
It makes little difference

They had George Floyd handcuffed, face down
On the pavement
A white cop’s knee on George’s black neck
Choking his life away

White man’s knee on a black man’s neck
Same as it ever was
In America

Righteously outraged
People fill the streets in protest
Seeking justice for George

They are met with tear gas
Rubber bullets
Riot cops in blue

Angry white men in Michigan
Armed with rifles
Storm the state capitol
Become YouTube sensations

Malignant roots anchor the tree
To the soil
In the branches
Remnants of frayed ropes
Sway in the American
breeze