Awakened by the Silence

The howling of the wind 

The silence of the road

I am awakened by the silence

Death down every alley

Misery on every corner.

Are we still winning?

From the Golden Gate city, California 

To Bangor, Maine 

Honolulu, Hawaii, to Genoa, Alaska 

To everywhere in America

In God we trust, still

Still we die in COVID-19 

Silence, silence the hunters are here

Rounding the corner, 

Buttoned down in rage

Decorated with a mandate to fire

To maime, to kill

They shoot, you die

They shout 

Stop, don’t move

Hands up

Head down

Surrender your hands 

Your dignity

Leave it behind

Submit, submit, or die.

You reach for documents,

You calm your wife, 

Your child in the backseat 

You speak

You sneeze

You think

You look

You run,

You sleep in your car?

You sleep at home

A threat is what you are

You are still breathing

Bang, bang, suckers, you die.

The broken mother,

Grieving sister, 

Helpless brother, 

The burning father

He, they die with you, 

They weep

Are we not human?

Why, my country, why?

Hey, hey Philando 

Hey, hey Ahmaud,

Hey, hey George,

Hey, hey Rayshard,

Hey, hey Breonna,

I hear you, I see you.

Hey, hey my country

Can you say their name?

The road is eerily silent 

In God we trust, still

Still those “others,” 

They are put down for cause 

Unjust, unfounded

Silence is shattered 

Sirens flood the avenues, 

The roundabouts 

Dead Americans in makeshift morgues, 

Refrigerated trucks,

Lined with our next-of-kin,

Yours and mine

Discarded face masks kicked up by the wind

They swirl off the 18-wheelers frames

As if to wave the frozen dead goodbye,

The chill of death, 

Raging from New York to Texas

Arizona to Georgia,

Florida to California

Ohio to New Jersey

No one to warn the cavalry 

All the Paul Reveres have been muted 

Sidelined or sedated

But for an old man

A medicine man called Fauci

His brand, his name, his will

Unbreakable, unshakable 

We love you, Tony.

Gun fire explodes again

Another black man, woman, child

Dead, dead, dead.

A man whispers into a woman’s ear

“Those others,”

If they would only comply!”

The trucks thunder in the distance

Howling wind sweeps in again

Silence follows 

I am awakened by the silence. 

Dr. Azzam Elayan 

July 17, 2020 

Stop Murdering Black Americans

The broad daylight extrajudicial execution of George Floyd two days ago, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as he and others begged his uniformed killers to spare his life, is a devastating and grave injustice. Most people who have seen the video of the cold-blooded murder of Mr. Floyd are thoroughly disgusted and horrified by the callous, ruthless, cold-blooded, seemingly rehearsed, and agonizing murdering of a fellow human being. Most people feel, like I do, invalidated, powerless, and emasculated to the core, as we could not jump through the screen and push the killer off Mr. Floyd’s neck and form a protective circle around him to fend off those ravenous savages. Mr. Floyd’s killing should not be referred to as police brutality, it’s far more than that; it’s the tip of an iceberg better be described as what it actually is: systemic racism. Law enforcement infrastructure, legislative mechanisms, legal system, and justice system (including the Supreme Court’s protective-shield laws around rogue officers) must be fundamentally reconfigured, in order to protect Black Americans, to the same degree and no less, as they do White Americans. The relentless onslaught against Black people in America must stop. Immediately. The only way this could be achieved is by granting Black Americans an equal voice in the essential reconfiguration process. More broadly, these rights and input opportunities must be granted to all minorities in America. The freedoms and rights granted by the United States Constitution are intended for all Americans. “We The People” in the Preamble to the Constitution refers to all Americans. No exceptions. It is the law of the land, enshrined in the founding texture of this nation. It should be unequivocal then, as a clear declaration of the cumulative totality of the United States Constitution that Black Lives Matter. And if this is ever in dispute, then Black Lives Matter is a clear declaration of all those who believe in justice for all humanity.

Azzam Elayan, PhD
May 28, 2020