You only watch the news to find out
where the fires are burning, which way
the wind is blowing, and whether
it will rain. Forecast ahead but first:
A mother's boy laid out
in the street for hours.
These facts don't wash away.


About this poem
"This poem was inspired by the death of Michael Brown, particularly the way in which Brown's death and the ensuing protests were covered (or, in many cases, not covered) on mainstream media. Social media and the #BlackLivesMatter movement kept this story from being buried or ignored. This poem is about witness, the most powerful tool we have against injustice and state-sponsored violence, terror, discrimination and murder. The poem is not an elegy. It is a report on America."
-D.A. Powell

About D.A. Powell
D.A. Powell is the author of "Repast" (Graywolf Press, 2014). He is the 2016 Tin House/Portland State University writer-in-residence and splits his time between Portland, Ore., and San Francisco.

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The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day[at]poets.org.

(c) 2016 D.A. Powell. Originally published by the Academy of American Poets, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate