A Kentucky Poet on Abolition

“Each of us is worth more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.”

- Equal Justice Initiative founder, Bryan Stevenson.

Baby’s Breath

Clang, clang, clang

i hear the chains

before i see

the boy

i wonder

whose baby will waddle

into this

space

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle

i hear the feet

before i see

the weight

of the world

on shoulders not

yet broad enough

to carry a thing

There are scores of Black

boys here called predators

called prisoners called

property

never called children

i still smell mother’s milk

on baby’s breath

Black boys paraded

as men in jumpsuits

They wear orange and red

sorrow and pain

Black children denied fear

and grief and love

and time

Jangle, jangle, jangle

i hear the keys

before I see

a boy

locked away

locked inside

locked outside

of his right to

dream

Why?

-by letonia jones, board member

KCADP