Fall 2022 | Arnisha Royston Reads "Headlines” – MQR Sound
Arnisha Royston reads her poem "Headlines", from MQR'S Fall 2022 special issue 'Fractured Union: American Democracy on the Brink'.
City Settles Lawsuit Over Handcuffed Man Killed By Police. i choose to believe he’s an angel. not that this death is heroic. there is no honor in dying this way. 2 Of The Officers Involved In George Floyd’s Death Will Testify During Federal Civil Rights Trial. whose rights are civil. i tell my nephew to protect his body. that he should always tuck his elbows in tight. he doesn’t ask why. just smiles like he’ll always be this happy. After 8 Years, A Retired Florida Police Captain Is Standing Trial For Killing A Man In An Argument About Texting In A Movie Theater. last year my entire family went to the movies. filled a whole row. the kids sat next to each other. laughing and talking. louder than the movie. i worried someone might ask them to be quiet. they do not know about this kind of silence. how to hone it. carry it between the spaces in their teeth. they are just children. unafraid of anything real yet. a Police Reform can’t wait any longer. they’re getting older. and rules stricter. i cannot hold all this fear.
For more from the Fall 2022 special issue of MQR, “Fractured Union: American Democracy on the Brink,” you can purchase the issue here.
