Brutality and injustice
don’t fade in memory;
they don’t go away
to some wistful place
of awful nostalgia–
bloody oath they don’t!
They don’t fade
to sickly grey
in some soft
and silent place
where you
are told to
behave well
and say no more.
Abuse, suffering,
scars and hate,
don’t fade in memory
but live and beat
as red and urgent
as they ever
were in all
the moments
of pain from the
acts of disgrace.
12/8/2016