Chantel Moore with her daughter Gracie
"Stay golden," she always said,
to friends and family.
We wore yellow shirts
when we marched for her,
in her memory.
A death that never should have happened;
her mother's tears will never end.
Her daughter will always
miss her mother; broken hearted,
all her friends.
Where is kindness, in this world?
Where has compassion gone?
Why do police act with such
aggression, when kind words
would soothe and calm?
Before you know kindness, the poet said,
you must wake up with sorrow.
We wake with sorrow every day.
Where is our kind tomorrow?
I don't know what to make of it.
This is not the world I knew.
But I see there is a portal,
we are meant to travel through,
a turning from the rhetoric
that has caused us all such pain,
a path of transformation
to make us kind again.
She was afraid and called for help,
but help is not what came.
She will be
forever golden.
We will not forget
her name.
Marching for Chantel (and George Floyd)
in Tofino in 2020.
For Chantel Moore, shot five times by a policeman making a "wellness" check. The House of Commons was presented with a bill soon after to address systemic racism in the RCMP. One MP abstained, blocking the bill, which was supported by all the others.
for Susan's prompt at What's Going On - a Weekend with Friends
That is a very sad story, Sherry. Such a tragedy that didn't have to happen. I wonder how her daughter is doing...such an unnecessary loss.
ReplyDelete"We wake with sorrow every day.
ReplyDeleteWhere is our kind tomorrow?"
Ouch. I see you all in your golden shirts, gathered in the memory of one who should not have died. Powerful writing, Sherry.
Ugh, not again. This is so damned sad, :-(
ReplyDeleteThis is so heartbreaking, Sherry! Why she was afraid, I wonder. What was the need of this pointless atrocity?
ReplyDeleteI researched this story...just absolutely sickening..We had an incident here of a frail 95 year old disabled woman being tasered by a big burly policeman. because she was running around the nursing home waving a knife. She died as a result. He was not sent to prison but given community service. The old lady's family is appealing the lenient sentence.
ReplyDeleteRall, that is terrible. This young woman called a friend because she was afraid a man was lurking outside. So when she heard footsteps on the porch she opened the door holding a knife. All the policeman would have had to do is show some kindness, assure her he was there to help and deescalate but instead he freaked out and shot her. And I hear from the family there were more serious injuries that never came out publicly. And believe it or not, not long after, a young local man was killed by police. So even in our peaceful and beautiful village, the grief (and systemic racism) goes on and on and on.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a sad poem, Sherry, about a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened. I love how Chantel’s saying and the title of your poem are tied together by the word golden, and is reflected in the yellow shirts worn for the march. I too wonder where kindness and compassion have gone. Thankfully, police in the UK are not armed, only for special armed response, and they are trained not to be aggressive.
ReplyDeleteHow very sad - I am glad however that he4 name and beauty is remembered and cherished- Jae
ReplyDeleteThis is a sad true story. I am saddened that there are too many of these events. I am waiting on tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteyou must wake up with sorrow.
We wake with sorrow every day.
Where is our kind tomorrow?
"Before you know kindness, the poet said,
ReplyDeleteyou must wake up with sorrow.
We wake with sorrow every day.
Where is our kind tomorrow?"
- this is so powerful, Sherry...takes me to Naomi Shihab Nye's poem, I think on Kindness. And I hope they get some justice and closure. Where is our kind tomorrow - yes..that is the question.
This is a heart wrenching story So much pain of a death that shouldn't have happened. What a beautiful gesture to walk in golden shirts and than this wisdom 'Before you know kindness, the poet said, you must wake up with sorrow.
ReplyDeleteI remember this story in our news, Sherry, and it was such a terrible thing to happen. I am also familiar with the case Rall quoted. We have become more and more aggressive as a society and it seems that violence is now an everyday thing, with younger and younger people involved... Your poem captures this all so well...
ReplyDeleteAnd by folk who are to be protected by. Horrible, we have these in Texas also. Some are in prison now, not enough. We and folks like you are needed, more will know. Thank you, Sherry.
ReplyDeleteHow awful. How violent and vile. It's a strange feeling now, not to be surprised by anything.
ReplyDelete