{"id":1415,"date":"2020-06-25T13:45:33","date_gmt":"2020-06-25T17:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/together-justice\/?p=1415"},"modified":"2020-07-13T18:35:59","modified_gmt":"2020-07-13T22:35:59","slug":"poem-i-cant-breathe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/together-justice\/2020\/06\/25\/poem-i-cant-breathe\/","title":{"rendered":"Poem: I Can’t Breathe"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Rev. Ellie Stock<\/h5>\n
\"\"<\/a>

I can’t breathe. Photo by Peter Burka<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

Inside the glass
\na young man says his last goodbye,
\na phone call to his mother, vigiling outside,
\na cough and a sneeze now a pandemic disease,
\nsoon he is whispering, I can\u2019t breathe<\/em>\u2014
\nisolated and trapped by a ventilator machine,
\na masked nurse holds his hand to ease his pain
\nuntil he dies.<\/p>\n

Outside the glass
\na mother says her last goodbye,
\na phone call to her ailing son inside,
\neyes burning and red, tears clogging her throat,
\ngrieving uncontrollably, I can\u2019t breathe<\/em>,
\nno one consoling or hearing her cry
\nmasked ones walk by as she watches intently
\nhis final sigh.<\/p>\n

Inside the glass
\na black man says his last goodbye,
\na video recording to witnesses outside
\narrest and handcuffing, then a racism disease,
\nsoon he is choking, I can\u2019t breathe (12 times)<\/em>
\nface pinned to the street, neck kneed, lynched by white police
\nwhile masked witnesses shout for relief
\nuntil he dies.<\/p>\n

Outside the glass
\nMothers say their last goodbye,
\na viral video to the public outside,
\neyes burning with anger and hearts in their throat,
\nscreaming loudly, I can\u2019t breathe<\/em>,
\n400 years, violently oppressed by white supremacy law and vigilantes,
\nwhile masked protestors demonstrate for justice
\nas cities burn and die.<\/p>\n

Inside the glass
\ncreatures lament\u2014will it be their last goodbye\u2014
\nmedia and marches to the world beside,
\neyes burning, throats choking from polluting,
\nand protesting loudly, I can\u2019t breathe<\/em>,
\nLife exploited by legal and corporate greed,
\nmasks hiding climate change extinctioning
\nas communities die.<\/p>\n

Outside the glass
\nPachamama mourns\u2014will it be her last goodbye\u2014
\nwarnings to humanity collapsing inside,
\nland, water and air depleting, \u00a0eyes and throat parching,
\npleading desperately to all species, I can\u2019t breathe<\/em>,
\nstrangling pandemics of hatred and greed,
\npraying to unmask love, courage and empathy,
\nso Mother Earth and all may thrive.<\/p>\n

ejhs<\/p>\n

5\/29\/2020<\/p>\n

\n

The work of the Presbyterian Hunger Program is possible thanks to your gifts to\u00a0<\/em>One Great Hour of Sharing<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Rev. Ellie Stock Inside the glass a young man says his last goodbye, a phone call to his mother, vigiling outside, a cough and a sneeze now a pandemic disease, soon he is whispering, I can\u2019t breathe\u2014 isolated and trapped by a ventilator machine, a masked nurse holds his hand to ease his pain… Read more »<\/a>","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":1416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[1746,1534,19,14,1621],"class_list":["post-1415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advocacy","tag-black-lives-matter","tag-covid-19","tag-joining-hands","tag-presbyterian-hunger-program","tag-white-supremacy"],"yoast_head":"\nPoem: I Can't Breathe - Together for Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/together-justice\/2020\/06\/25\/poem-i-cant-breathe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Poem: I Can't Breathe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Rev. Ellie Stock Inside the glass a young man says his last goodbye, a phone call to his mother, vigiling outside, a cough and a sneeze now a pandemic disease, soon he is whispering, I can\u2019t breathe\u2014 isolated and trapped by a ventilator machine, a masked nurse holds his hand to ease his pain... 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