‘Ambush of a black woman’ & two other poems
Wendy Angela McBurney, PhD is a Spanish educator and faculty member of Howard University. Her research interests include the intersections of race, gender, and class in Hispanic African, Afro-Hispanic, and Caribbean literary expressions. She received her early education in the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago and completed her graduate studies at Bowling Green State University and the University of Missouri at Columbia. She also has a passion for the literary arts.
By Wendy Angela McBurney
Ambush of a black woman
Yes, I testify!
That they do not protect me
But will ambush me
Will kick and brutalize me till I fall
They will beat my brow down to the ground
And wring my wrists till they burn and break off
Yes, I testify!
That they will beat my chest with iron fists
And pound my head against brick walls so that tears of anguish envelop my soul
When I am afraid because my safety is threatened, compromised, or violated
I call your name, I dial your number
But receive no answer or a delayed response
Indifference, a refusal to respond and act on my behalf
You hesitate to take up arms in my defense to ensure my safety
Yes, I testify!
You assert that the law does not extend to the margins
It only reaches that far to persecute, to punish, maim and shatter black lives
When will this tyranny against the black woman, and the black man end?
When will my humanity be valued, respected and my dignity elevated?
Another Black Man
Another black man was killed at the hands of the exterminators,
Calculated, intentional ill will gleamed in their eyes.
Hearts of stone,
Soulless, Empty, Cruel
Another black man was deprived of tomorrow,
His days were numbered,
Cut short by the assailant’s blade.
Hearts of stone,
Soulless, Empty, Savage.
Another black man was cruelly pushed into eternity
Breath squeezed out of his body on an asphalt road.
Painfully, thoughtlessly, callously taken away.
Hearts of stone,
Soulless, Empty, Savage.
Another black man was unfairly, unjustly taken from this land,
Broken at the core, His plea for mercy unheard.
Hearts of stone,
Soulless, Empty, Savage.
Another black man,
George Floyd fell victim of the executioner’s noose.
Since When?
Since when has freeing yourself from the savagery of a grinding knee,
Been considered
A high crime,
Resistance, Worthy of death,
Since when has speaking in your defense?
Unquestionable treason,
Cause for extermination,
Since when has the inability to rise-up from the pressure of the cruel clasp?
A villainous act worthy of punishment,
Since when is it right for justice to be accorded to certain men and women and not others?
Where is our justice,
Our humanity,
Our love?
Resistance from the knee clasp,
Resistance from the choke hold,
Resistance from the executioner’s noose,
Illuminated by the glare of the sun’s rays,
Ensuring that the world could bear witness to the truth.
Ensuring that justice would finally prevail.