Faye Turner-Johnson

GATHER TOGETHER WHO I AM

bring together all of me
gather together who I am
bring together all of me
to survive the violence
the degradation
of a traffic STOP
thought I was safe
in my identity with you black cop with your identification of me
thought it was all good
heed that warning
use my signal
drive more carefully
be on my way
because you serve and protect in our community
how must I gather together who I am
bring together all of me
when you can beat me to death
obliterate all of me
all of who we are supposed to be
once again I have gone to the well seeking justice
but find there is nothing there for me


Faye's YouTube video reading of "Gather Together Who I Am":



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Faye confesses: "The heartbreaking video of the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols and his efforts to appease the officers to save his life prompted this poem. That was not his responsibility! It was the duty of the officers to protect him. His woeful lament, “What did I do?” replays in my head."

FAYE TURNER-JOHNSON recently self-published her first chapbook, "this Ebony Tongue," which can be found on Amazon.com. She has also been published in numerous journals, including Sky Island, Kissing Dynamite, The Raw Art Review Anthology (Winter 2020), Kissing Dynamite Lift Every Voice: An Anthology of Poetry, Rigorous, and other publications.