American Flag

No one remembered the definitive moment that the baby’s screams stopped clawing the afternoon heat with rips of anxiety

They just became aware of the silence which struck to the gut with its sickening reason

The father’s hand fell away from clutching her dress

Family blood running familiar

clotting in the sidewalk

Her small body hit his as they both went down

down

with no opposite ever to occur again

The police chief wiped his brow, thinking of the paperwork

Lucky they were Hispanic; less money to buy trouble for him

but the baby getting shot was still going to take some explanation

The mother was being sick on the molten tarmac

smell of trauma and city mixed

Hitting her head with empty hands

forever empty hands

feeling the rip in her womb

The sound of that internal scream was rising, forcing its high fury and pain out through every pore

On all fours

swaying incoherent hurling incantations to curse her husband for using their baby as a shield

The marksmen exited to waiting vehicles

with debriefings to get the official line

they did not even exchange a look

but one looked at her

and felt repulsion for this outpouring

out there in full view bare and raw

He wanted to fuck her

Fuck her on the road, ram her ass and throw her down so her head split blood red gash

Then she turned and caught his eye

knew what this white policia was thinking

Seen that look before, felt those grabbing hands

heard the insults, been hit by spit

She caught his eye, hurled her ancestry

and the power of the grandmothers flew to avenge

First they ate those dead eyes

Then they pulled out that dead heart

and cackling, reduced him to slivers of flesh

the American flag to hoist high