On a Lovely Summer Day

Walking through the tourist zone, with the kids,
Fun summer day outing,

Broken eggs on the sidewalk,
Just step around.

Sudden jolt of adrenaline,
A man in front of us throws something white.

This is happening now.

Another, stomping in camouflage, carrying a bag,
And they are tossing the eggs ahead. Jovial, aggressive.

Tourists look back, step aside.

Who is the target?
Foreigners like us?

Shush the kids,
Hold back, step behind the stands,

Subtly hide.
Don't speak loudly.
But kids, don't worry, it's okay.

They move on, we turn off.
But the kids keep glancing back.
And not just the kids.

The carefree nature of the sunny day stripped away.
Stomachs twist.

Trying to decide where to have our picnic.
Grass is open across the street,
but
police trucks along the road.
How close should we get?

Don't be scared, kids. The police are there to protect the protesters.
{glance at each other}
Yes, from people throwing eggs.

Curiosity,
Who is protesting?
What trouble is expected? So many trucks.

Irresistible draw to see what's happening,
to witness.
But we draw the line,
keep our distance,
and only joke about asking the riot police to pose with Stanley.

Picnic and baseball in the sun,
Lilting birds,

Brides strolling with tottering ladies in waiting
past packs of shiny black helmets.

Prayers for those who may end the day
in the ominous gray wagons.

Ice cream,
tourism,
sunny day.

And thankfully we left early,
and only read about the skirmish
the protesters faced in the metro station.

And how they were arrested for being attacked.

That evening, I watch videos about Brown v. Board of Education,
and all that came after.

The violence,
The threat of violence,
{feeling just a shadow of the fear}

And the courage
of those who stood up anyway,
pulls my tears out..