RACHEL JEANTEL

They are poking fun at
you Rachel for not knowing
what you were in for in that court room
for watching "First 48 Hours"
and that being your education
on our legal system
They are being snide about
your lack of command
of Queen's English
about you repeating
what Trayvon said right
before he was killed,
cold-blooded with tea
and skittles in hand:
This cracker is following me

you didn't flinch
when you said his words
They act like
you're the one on trial
and not that you're
the last one to 
have a conversation
with your friend about
the All-Star Basketball game
or that you told him to
run and he decided he
was close enough to his
apartment and didn't need to run
but you knew that day, didn't you
you KNEW and now your
knowing is being laughed at
by people who should be
defending you--I mean
black folk are posting
their disdain that you don't 
know how to handle these
crackers--like they would
be poised and wouldn't cry
and certainly wouldn't
ask the knock-knock joke of
an attorney whether
he watched First 48 Hours
because they watched
Law & Order long before
that show solved things
in 60 minutes

They are mocking you
and it's painful to read
and to see the hashtag
outrage that you don't
represent "your people" well
but your people are talking
as if you're the problem
you, not George Zimmerman
who followed your friend
and shot him right after
you heard your friend fall
on wet grass--you knew the sound
of wet grass--and they are laughing
as if they've never heard the
squishy sound of feet or back
on wet grass
but you KNEW, you did
and unpolished
unpoised, you told
us all.

© Valerie Bridgeman
June 26, 2013