All the flowers, poems
cards, and teddy bears
left on sidewalks
after someone died
somehow
don’t fill
the painful void
where a person
we loved
once lived.
Only progress
toward justice
can ease the pain.
A little.
Copyright 2020 Brenda Davis Harsham
Notes: I’ve seen people asking what the protestors want. It’s not complex. We want accountability. When people in authority (or ordinary citizens) assault or injure someone, they need to be charged with the crime they committed and be held accountable.
Accountability can act to deter further aggression against people of color. Body cams need to be turned on. Officers (or citizens) who commit crimes must be punished.
Some lines must never be crossed. Don’t assault people. Don’t terrorize people. Don’t torture people. Don’t attack people. Don’t murder people.
James Cordon’s show inspired me to speak out again, even though I’m not a person of color. I’d like to be an ally — part of the solution. When I was very young, I survived a car accident where three members of my immediate family died. This was before the drunk driving laws were enacted. The other driver, drunk, hit us head on. He walked away. The eight-inch gash on my head healed, along with the elbow doctors pinned back together, but my life irrevocably changed. I have three holes in my heart where my mother, brother and sister once lived. Years afterward, because of accidents like mine, laws were enacted from pressure from groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD). Knowing these laws were passed helps ease my pain. A little.
And the iris is for Michelle Kogan, who asked to see it.
Friendly Fairy Tales 
Beautiful creation. 🙂
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TY!
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Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
😀
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A very loving sentiment, Brenda!
Your harsh past has made you the beautiful, gentle fairy you have become!
❦🧚♀️❦🧚♀️❦🧚♀️❦🧚♀️
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If so, I can’t have regrets. 🙂
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Wouldn’t it be great if we could stop short of accountability and instead be kind? It’s hard to fathom a human wanting to do what he did to another human. Unless we see ourselves in everyone, there’s no telling what some people are capable of doing.
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I can’t imagine ever doing that either. It’s inhumane, reckless and wrong. It would be nice if we could stop harming each other. Short of that, we need accountability at least.
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Yes, Brenda, we need accountability for civilized society to exist…thanks for adding your cry for justice!
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Thanks for reading, Lynn.
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Lovely – moving and inspiring. Thank you.
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Thanks for reading.
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Beautifully said, my dear Brenda… and although those holes never close, justice -as you say- helps ease the pain and prevents from such things happening again. xoxo
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Exactly. Then the whole world can heal from our pain, which is a beautiful thing.
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Yes, it is, my dear Brenda! 🤗
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thank you, and yes
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The poem was so beautiful!
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Thank you!
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