George Floyd - In God's Arms May You Rest Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

Where was God
when a Black Man was under the heinous knees
of a Police Officer and he kept telling him-
"I can't breathe, I can't breathe"?

Where was humanity among others lost
when an Officer of the Law pushed him down
and kept his knees upon his neck disabling him
to even gasp for breath?

Where was law and order
when a Cop himself chose to act so unsympathetic
to his pathetic plight as he was departing
from this world due to the follies of
those policemen on duty at that hour of time?

Where were the ears of mercy
when so deaf with discrimination he acted
as he kept whispering he cannot breathe and
he ignored his pleas?

Where was brotherhood
when other officers stood by so callously
watching and not stopping the heinous crime
that was happening right before their very eyes?

Where was duty and dedication to civil liberties
when they are entrusted the task of stopping
and preventing crimes yet an incident of injustice
made people shiver to watch
the heinous end of a helpless man?

Where will anyone ever forget that treacherous act
when unarmed and helpless was he and under those knees,
unable to free himself from the misuse of force over him?

Where was forgiveness from people
ever going to revive its pace
when it had lost its way as he died
and it will never find its ground
as their hearts pained to see the valuable life
of one man coming to an end in such a brutal way
and they wondered was it because he was a Black man?

Where was the imagination or expectation mislaid
when a Police officer had to himself maintain self-discipline
and offer safety and protection to people
but he had resorted to such a savage act of placing his knees
on a helpless man's neck rather than permitting
justice to take over it's course?

Where was that fatal day when tears could not surpass the eyes
and reach the hearts of everyone who watched that gruesome act
and action of the cops who kept ignoring the pleas of that man
who was feeling so weak and incapable?

Where was that moment of compassion lost in those Police officers
when a man who woke up that morning and drove his car
but he never expected to die that day at the hands of a Policeman?

Where was that Constitution which speaks of Rights of citizens
yet he had to succumb to such a quick and unjust death
without a chance of seeking any remedies or release?

Where was the world which otherwise never rises except
when injustice and crime makes people to unite in grief
and shout aloud when death is so ghastly and horrifying?

Where was God who saw it all happening
yet never offered him an opportunity to escape from that moment
when life was pulling him away just like a suffocating fish
on a hook that stands no chances?

Where will those brothers and sisters, those fathers and mothers
ever stop to fear that the next could be them
and they will march to seek not only justice
for the soul that has departed
but for their own selves and for their safety in the future?

Where will memories vanish
when they themselves will forever feel weak and sad
when upon those pupils will gather the recollection of that man
who died for being a Black man and they are all of the same color?

Where will that country ever hide this error and the nation's sorrow
over the death of a helpless man
when their country's laws promise freedom, democracy and equality
yet the man who was put under the knees by the police officer was
a black man who kept whispering "I can't breathe, I can't breathe"
and the cops never showed any consideration
for his "Right to Life" or a fair trial under the Rule of Law?