Dead Boys Don't Talk

I.

Skittles and a can of Arizona
such a bad ass
up to no good
such a bad ass
what’s he gonna do?
scatter the Skittles?
A hooded figure
walks in the February night rain.

II.

Gated community
We’re gonna stop the bad guys
from coming in here
from breaking in
The neighborhood watch
always vigilant
always on duty.

III.

You say you know everyone
you say he was suspicious
Tonight you’re gonna stand your ground
the blue told you stay put
but you felt like a hero
Neighborhood watchman by day!
Hoodlum capturing super hero by night!

“These fucking punks ... these assholes,
they always get away”

But not tonight!

IV.

Tonight you’re gonna
stand your ground
a blurry altercation
in the cold rain
faint light
spotty and confused
testimony,

“Help me!”
Who could it be?
No one knows

B-A-N-G
A clean shot to the chest


Tonight you’re gonna
stand your ground
against
a
kid.

V.

No ID
face down on the cement
CPR won’t work
people don’t recover
from a gun shot
that ruptures the  heart
John Doe goes to the morgue

And you expect a medal upon your arrival.

VI.

It’s your word against his
but dead boys can’t talk
and the blood was washed down the sewer
you stood your ground that night...
did you have to
shoot him in the chest?
do you remember his eyes
when the bullet entered his heart?

VII.
five white females
one Hispanic female
one verdict
not guilty
It was your word against his

and dead don’t boys don’t talk.


*Notes*

To write this poem, I used primary sources such as court documents in the State of Florida V George Zimmerman case (Trayvon Martin). Here is a link to the primary sources I read through
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/zimmerman1/zimmermancourtdox.html. Also I used a direct quote from “The Affidavit of Probable Cause— Second Degree Murder” here is the link for the PDF http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/zimmerman1/zimprobablecausedoc.pdf. To stay as far as possible from traditional media, I read information about the case and trial that I felt was unbiased as it could be, written by a law professor, which you can read here http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/zimmerman1/zimmermanaccount.html. The state of Florida has a “Stand Your Ground” law, which basically states a person who believes that his life is danger can use deadly force.  This was Zimmerman’s defense. It is evident, the police were due diligent in the handling of this case, it really boiled down to George Zimmerman’s version of the events. If you read the transcripts of the police questioning of Zimmerman and other witnesses, you might see as I did, a lot of  unanswered questions because dead boys cannot answer for themselves. 

Second Time Around

I opened my eyes in a dark forest. How did I get here? What was I doing here? Where were my clothes?  Everything was blank.  I got up, found my way out the of the woods and started to walk down the street.

The car stopped behind me. Someone got out and said, “Do you need help?”

I turned and looked at her.

She came closer and gave me her coat.

 “No it can’t be.”

“What?”

“Cass.”

“I don’t know.”

“It can’t be. You’ve been dead for ten years.”

I remembered asking to come back, so much left to do.

Jet Star Jockey by JM Scott Free on Kindle Through August 23, 2018

Hey all, Jet Star Jockey is free in all Kindle markets through August 23, 2018. This book contains 52 poetry collages. This both a poetry book and an art book.

Enjoy this free sample from the book "Desert Moon"

Brazen Spiders and Shiny Grass

I'm sitting here thinking about how it already is the middle of August and soon it will be fall, then winter, and then 2019. Time is always the same, but it never feels like it.

I've got a lot of thoughts in my head, and I can't keep them straight. All this stuff I want to write with this feeling if I don't I'll just explode. I think my brain exploded last night and every time I closed my eyes, it was a lost thought trying to get out. A bit melodramatic I know, but perhaps there is no other way to say it. I read news stories, comments and high brow literature and if that isn't enough, I think about imaginary people and what they're doing. I think about the poetry

I should be writing; even if it is about Indiana Jones spiders that come swinging on their fine butt floss in front of my computer. They are tiny- those baby spiders. You can barely see them, they are like misplaced periods. Indiana Jones' theme song plays in the background, at least in my head. Because what adventure is he on now, swinging to and fro? And later on he will find himself on my arm, tickling my invisible hairs,  and I'll spend an hour looking for him, lost in the jungle he is, and then I squash him. I actually feel kind of bad because he is so tiny, but there's nothing on my arm interesting to him when there is a whole house to explore. Maybe he was the odd man out. Who knows?

Yesterday, the rain fell in a criss cross pattern like an apple pie lattice. I think I'm the only one who seen it, no one else mentioned it. Then it stopped and that was all. At least the grass grew another quarter inch. I wish there was astroturf instead, but that is kind of stupid because grass is real and maybe the only thing that is when my brain goes haywire. They say walking bare foot on the earth centers you. When I walk barefoot in my grass, I either step on a stone and curse under my breath or almost fall in hole, left by rotting roots. Never do I feel the oneness with the universe.

So there you have it. Another day in the history books, another day online. When some three hundred years from looks on this, they will know there was grass and I didn't enjoy it like I should have.

Nothing Important

It's supposed to be the Dog Days of Summer and while the weather has improved from the rain hell from July it is mostly pleasant although there is a serious lack of thunderstorms at least where I live at. Every day, the Weather Channel says there will be storms and there is sunshine.

Time escapes me. More than it does for other people. I sometimes find myself in a constant haze and in the same time I accomplish things. Some days not as much as others.  I know it's August, but I feel like I am still sleeping through June.

 I am obsessed with the new songs and videos from Twenty One Pilots (Jumpsuit, Nico and the Niners, and Levitate) that for some reason I find myself thinking about those songs, and then I watch them two or three times over. Although those are the right songs to listen to for the novel I am planning for this November.

I tell anyone that listens that I am a short story writer and prefer short stories. And the last short story I wrote was for class. Even my novels are on the short side. Sometimes, I wonder if I am doing it right. Writing. But I suppose that foes with the territory.

I always try to post more. I even tried cheating and dropping writing new blog posts from 3 times a to 2 times a week, but that didn't really help. Most, of the time I have nothing to say. Nothing important anyway.

I'm still here just fading fast from the internet as my mind keeps finding projects to fill my time. And the candies always need crushed.

Till next time..