Caution Tape

I am yellow.

I often dress in black.

I see the mob surrounding

a brownstone house,

a shadowy silhouette traced in

white chalk barely in view,

black and yellow caution tape

wrapped around

the perimeter

preventing us from seeing

how often we dress for funerals.

As a boy, I learned that

in the animal world,

black and yellow are warning colors.

They show the potential for a sting,

for danger,

for poison,

and that if a potential predator

has an unpleasant encounter involving

such a creature,

they will seek to avoid it

by watching

for the warning colors.

But at the end of the day

maybe we’re a little more human than animal

I’d tell myself

a repeated mantra

to stop the constant barrage of

videos and images, haunting and

assaulting me at night, robbing me

of spending time with the cousin of death

in my attempts to understand why

death’s got a thing for color.

I started seeing signs.

Caution signs,

pedestrian crossing lines,

railroad tracks,

yellow and black

warnings telling everyone to slow their roll

and keep their eyes open for when the lanes combine to avoid collisions.

But maybe certain shades of skin

are associated with accidents.

So I had to run before I learned to crawl,

since my life has always been a balancing act

of gravity and painted smiles.

I'd walk before learning how to run

from all that I have and haven't done

because at the end of the day,

maybe we’re a little more animal than human

I’d tell myself—

it’s never been a black and white issue.

I float in between,

hovering over grey areas

where I am expected to be

a good son that shines light into it

but I am only one

moment away before I become

supernova

May every predator notice

the warning signs,

the warning colors.

May the stone foundations

housing the view of a body

replaced by silhouette

traced in white chalk

crumble.

May the barrier of caution tape be replaced

with a rainbow gateway

containing every shade of promise

made tomorrow and yesterday.

May America

consider itself

warned.