Tell me what you hear while they’re screaming

 

Do you think of youthful glee?

Running around the pool

when you should be walking

Eyes darting from lifeguard

and back to launching destination

Perfect cannonball form

screaming with excitement

Splashing water everywhere

or

do you hear the children

standing in the summer grass

cops called

for being black in public

swimsuits still dry, towels on shoulders

tackled, cuffed, and beaten

screaming from pain and fear

face pressed into the ground

tears splashing all around

perfect form

But somehow still resisting

 

But Karen’s 73 and she knows all the local police

She wouldn’t lie about not wanting to share the pool

With the grandchildren of the boys and girls

Who drank from the colored fountains

When America was great

And so she called

Because she wished it could be great again