George Floyd

I am taking the time to repost my poem entitled, "I Can't Breathe" which was presented to George Floyd's Family as well as distributed at his memorial & funeral. It was also framed and presented to his family today at his funeral service. I appreciate George's family for their gratitude for acknowledging their acceptance of this piece during the televised broadcast of his funeral. Also, I want to take the time to thank each of you for reading & supporting my work. To God Be the Glory!!! Much from me & God above. I Can’t Breathe! George Floyd’s Final Words Written by Melinda Woods-Smallwood© “I Can’t Breathe!” This is what George Floyd of Minneapolis, Minnesota said. “I can’t breathe!” Because police officer, Derek Chauvin had his knee on my neck and head. “Please, let me breathe!” You’re putting my heart under distress. “Why won’t you let me breathe?” I’m not resisting arrest. “I can’t breathe!” I’m experiencing intense fear and anxiety due to a panic attack. It’s hard to breathe because two other officers are kneeling with their knees in my back. I can’t breathe, because the officers have me confined and unable to move and I don’t know my fate. “I can’t breathe!” I can feel my heart beginning to palpitate which is causing it to experience irregular forceful beats at a rapid rate. “I can’t breathe!” Don’t you see me gasping for air? “I can’t breathe!” Because of the way you are harshly treating me is unfair. I can breathe because the pressure of your knee on my neck is blocking and narrowing my airway. I’m telling you I can’t breathe, but you’re refusing to listen to anything I say. I can’t breathe! I am already at a disadvantage because it is four of you officers against one. I don’t think you care if I can breathe, because your facial expression and macho position make it look as if you don’t care about what’s being done. “I can’t breathe!” I am already handcuffed, so please let me stand. “I can’t breathe!” This is the blatant mistreatment of a black man. “I can’t breathe!” As I lie here almost lifeless on my back. I can’t breathe and I’m wondering if I’ll survive this attack. I can’t breathe. This must be police brutality at its finest of how you treat an unarmed black man even when he already has handcuffs on his hands. I told him I couldn’t breathe while three other officers watched me beg for my life. Maybe you didn’t care either if I could breathe, because I was black and the four of you were white. I can’t breathe, I moaned as two other officers kneeled and held my body under duress. “I can’t breathe!” I could barely utter as I was brutally mistreated and I wasn’t resisting arrest. As it was getting harder to breathe, I called out for my mother because if I die I wanted her to know I love her. I struggled to breathe for a total of nine minutes lying almost motionless and slowly losing my breath, but to the officers’ commands, I still complied. When I could no longer breathe, I took my last breath, laid there lifeless, unresponsive, and died. He couldn’t breathe, but we can so let’s use our breath to demand justice against racial profiling and police brutality against the Black man. He lost his life when a police officer who took an oath to serve and protect obstructed his breathing by putting his knee on George’s neck. Now that George can’t breathe because he died of asphyxiation, mental and physical distress, he no longer has to resist a rest. smallwoodm@yahoo.com