Bicycles Love Poems Blacksburg Under Siege: 21 August 2006 (for Carolyn Rude) Not safe . . . not even all that nice . . . when you think about it . . . What mean fraternity boys do with their fists . . . and drunk fraternity boys do with their penises . . . barefoot boys do with guns . . . Whether it's a redneck screaming "nigger" . . . or a poet hollering "titties" . . . illegal and unkind behavior tells someone s/he -doesn't belong . . . check it . . . check it out . . . Not nice . . . No . . . And no reason to feel safe A good day . . . someone pointed out . . . however . . . to be black . . . or a woman . . . and not be hunted . . . and not have to hold your head down . . . and not have to quiver . . . when you pass a man . . . police . . . or professional . . . yet still knowing . . . at any given moment . . . you are a target . . . "They didn't move fast enough" . . . they cried . . . "They could have done more" . . . they demanded . . . "More to let us hold on to our illusions of safe . . . to let us hold on to our illusion of fair . . . to let us hold on to our illusions . . . illusions . . . illusions" . . . And whether it was a bullet flying or an animal cracker coming straight at you . . . it was an attack . . . And yes . . . maybe there could be faster motion . . . faster lockdown . . . faster dismissal . . . but hey there is the bigger picture . . . and after all he didn't mean it . . . his leg was sprained . . . he's so intelligent . . . so talented . . . so special . . . he didn't realize his heart was blind . . . he didn't understand he was causing pain . . . Bang! Bang . . . he sang . . . I shot you Down but I really didn't have a gun . . . and just because you're dead . . . -doesn't mean I really did it . . . I shot the deputy . . . hey hey . . . he sings . . . but I only pretended with the rest of you And in the end he was very careful with himself . . . Sure not to be treated the way he treated McFarland and Sutphin . . . Avoiding the knockout blow or killer smile he dealt the man who came when he called "Help" . . . Silencing his victims with death for their goodwill and sense of decency . . . Or their pity for him . . . Do all the sane and sober things to protect yourself, Monster . . . so that you can plead Innocent By Reason of Not Paying Close Attention . . . Threaten us that you can make Blacksburg not ever be the same again . . . But we will be the same . . . willful ignorance will overpower indignation every time . . . That still does not make us nice . . . and it sure -doesn't make us safe Bicycles Love Poems . Copyright © by Nikki Giovanni. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from Bicycles by Nikki Giovanni All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
