Dedicated to Mesha, mother of Idriss Stanelley, & the parents of
Ethan Saylor)
I tried to go see Fruitvale but I couldn’t sit still
Spirits told me to get up & go
Idriss Stelley to Ethan Saylor
Sat in those sits & got blown
Theaters hide the black & blue
In the dark crying the Blues
Just wanted to see another movie
Ethan said, “don’t touch me!”
Now mothers can’t go to movie theaters
Dealing with PTSD has to wait for the DVD
Black & White both young men had a disability
No more butter popcorn no more candy
Many say documentaries are real life
We’ll never feel Oscar Grant's emotions at that moment
Can’t turn back the hands of time
Love ones buried under dirt and cement
Activists & rappers say film the police
How can we film in the dark
Cell phones with flash
Catching the po po's ass
Theater massacres aren’t only carried out
By individual strangers
Target only one in many
Profiling under state violence ignoring the shouts
In the dark but evidence comes to light
After all of this time
The screen becomes the frame they created
Idriss welcomes Ethan as his spirit rises
Few get on the big screen
Many more are not known
Parents still on their knees
What is next, a stamp aka an Oscar from the establishment?
After film festivals and premiers
Few parents are left with boxes of DVDs
While filmmakers move to their next project
The other parents are lucky to even get a lawsuit settlement
Before the lights go off
Check out who is not around you
Feel the spirits on the black screen
Crying, “we need to rest we had enough!”
By Leroy F Moore Jr.
7/16/13