These Mothers’ Eyes Spoke

Samaria Rice’s eyes speak to me,

11 years and one month.

Diamond Reynolds’ eyes speak to me,

31 years and one month.

Gloria Darden’s eyes speak to me,

24 years and one month.

Silvia Palmer’s: 27 years and one month.

Lezley McSpadden’s: 17 years and one month.

Wanda Cooper-Jones’: 24 years and one month.

Demetree Wynn’s: 20 years and one month

April Pipkins’: 20 years and one month

Patricia Slack’s: 17 years and one month

Allison Jean’s: 25 years and one month

Michelle Keeney’s: 16 years and one month

These mothers’ eyes tell me how much time I have left with my son if his story is like theirs.

These mothers’ eyes tell me how much time has been spent fighting and how much more of the fight is mine.

These mothers’ eyes, they speak. They speak in the burning of buildings, in the shattering of glass, in the dark of night in Portland, Kenosha, Charlottesville, Minneapolis, New York, Nashville, Raleigh, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Washington DC. Their eyes speak and they spoke to me.

These mothers’ eyes spoke and they said, “our sons will live even if it means every city must burn”.