for Keith Lamont Scott & Brentley Vinson

after the fall
he sometimes sees things
that are not there.

the book becomes a gun;
the gun becomes a book.

he cannot distinguish between faces.
the suspect and the bystander
look the same
with their mouths
where their eyes should be.

(but the cop was black too, right?
how could he make that mistake?)

forgetting is common
after incurring trauma.

I’d like to test your memory.

please circle one:

he was …
armed/unarmed
advancing [aggressively]/retreating [out of fear]

his hands were …
up [in surrender]/down [in fists]

he is …
dead/dead

when you look at this picture of the deceased
(and his seven children)
what do you see?

don’t say [nigger];
don’t say [nigger];
[don’t say] nigger.

there     words missing      this sentence;
there are years        from his sentence.

how do you expect me to process this?
how do you expect me to process this.

have you seen Memento?
.sdrawkcab si gnihtyreve

the end is the beginning:
all of us chained together here
in complete darkness.