Based on the painting “Open Casket” by Dana Schutz, 2016
Inside the open casket lies a Black boy
Whose face tells his-story
An innocent Black boy who was supposed to—
Live a sweet childhood
Yet, there it lies
His mutilated face
Upon the pillow of grief
All hopes of tomorrow
Lost in his Black suit of sorrow
His torso buttoned up
By the whiteness of his killers
His pants carrying the blood
Of a flower that had yet to grow
His name was Emmett
Till – one day two men
The same color as his bed of flowers
Wanted him dead
Because the color of his Skin
Screamed unworthy kin.
May you rest well, Black boy,
And please say hello for us to Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin,
Along with the rest of the Emmett Tills that society has killed—
If you will, Emmett Till.