The Boy

They stopped him for speeding.
“Used it as an excuse,”
the cops said.
To search his body
         for tell tale marks.
To search his clothes
         for clear-cut logos.
To search his person
         for obvious signs.
They thought he looked like one.
Reason enough to run his name,
see if he was
“listed” as one.
And even though they found
no marks, logos, or signs,
although he wasn’t on
“The List”,
they knew he was one –
a low life,
a gang member,
a violent,
a decadent.
They knew by
the dirty clothes,
the arrogant attitude,
the dark skin tone,
the blood shot eyes.
So they added him
to “The List”.

And when he started to resist
their searching,
they used the stun guns –
shocking,
as the documentary
tape rolled.

And all the people sitting in the
cozy living rooms of the
cozy suburbs,
nodded.
All’s fair in the war
on violence,
on crime,
on drugs,
on people.
All’s fair in the war
to survive.

It’s times like this
I wonder…