bon repos

Trigger warning: Indian Residential Schools

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We stole your children.

We buried them in whiteness.

We buried them in the fields.

News is getting out.

We fly the colonizers' flag at half-mast, 

a false apology at best.

Poem and photo by rob goetze

apology from the Baton Rouge Police Department

In memory of Alton Sterling, age 37, killed by Baton Rouge Police Department officers who responded to a report that a man selling CDs had threatened someone with a gun. July 5, 2016.

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we just want to say

father of five in red shirt
selling CDs outside store
someone called in
an altercation

die Bullen pinned him to the ground
he's got a gun one shouted
the other did his sworn duty
and gored him to death

Forgive us
we had hoped to spar with a white dude
but the night was dark
and his dance card was full

poem by rob g

---

Read the story here.

Last stanza in poem refers to this:
If only #AltonSterling had this luxury. pic.twitter.com/uueoZE5eDP

— Anthony Anderson (@anthonyanderson) July 6, 2016

This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams. If you are new to my blog, be aware that this is a social commentary blog. Most posts are rather frank and some are hard-hitting. Read more about this blog.

an apology from pope francis

On the occasion of the Holy Thursday rite, held at the Castelnuovo di Porto refugee centre in Italy, March 24, 2016.

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I  just want to say

On Holy Thursday
I washed your feet
Muslim Hindu Christian
men and women

on Holy Thursday
I kissed your feet
strangers in this land
children of the same god

Forgive me
for living the truth
that so many of God's people
deny

poem by rob g
This is a false apology poem
in the style of William Carlos Williams.

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As Bishop Yvette Flunder says in her tweet below,
Christianity is useless without demonstrating authentic radical love.

Source of Twitter screenshot.
Read the official AP story.

This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams.

an apology from the Mesa Arizona Police Department

In memory of Kayden Clarke, age 24, killed by Mesa Police Officers who were sent to follow-up on reports that he was suicidal, when he allegedly lunged at them with a kitchen knife. Mesa, Arizona. February 6, 2016.

Kayden's video of his service dog calming him during an Asperger's "meltdown" went viral last year.

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we just want to say

Suicidal
from being trans
or having aspergers
but illegal in either case

we two kings responded with guns
and (reportedly) stun guns
at least one of us trained
in mental health crisis intervention

Forgive us
for killing you
we were called in to uphold the law against suicide
but really we just wanted to go on admin leave

poem by rob g

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Read the story here.

See the video of Kayden and his service dog.

Twitter.

This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams. If you are new to my blog, be aware that this is a social commentary blog. Most posts are rather frank and some are hard-hitting. Read more about this blog.

an apology from Senior Deputy Ben Fields of the Richland County Sheriff's Department

To the unnamed black female high school student at Spring Valley High School who was violently assaulted by Deputy Ben Fields for refusing to get up and leave after being written up for not putting away her phone. Columbia, South Carolina. October 26, 2015.

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i just want to say

Sitting at your desk

you wanted to use your phone

teacher said no

but you didn't listen

your parents didn't teach you right

so I taught you a lesson

about learning

while black

Forgive me

for teaching you the back flip

in math class

I should have dragged you down to the gym first

poem by rob g

---

Read the story here.

This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams.

an apology from Manitoba Child and Family Services

For the babies and children seized by Manitoba Child and Family Services, predominantly from Indigenous families.

This is not about Indian Residential Schools or the "60's Scoop"; this is about what is happening in Canada today.

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we just want to say

You give birth to babies
again and again
and take them back to huts
without running water

it would be unkind to leave them with you
so we take them away
we give them away
cuz we know what's best

Forgive us
we hoped to have solved
the Indian problem
years ago

poem by rob g

---

Read making a difference, one baby at a time.

Read #StopStealingOurKids - Christi Belcourt's indictment of Manitoba's child welfare system.


This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams.
Read an explanation of false apology poems.

false apology poems - an explanation

I was introduced to false apology poems through a wonderfully funny children's book, Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It by Gail Carson Levine. You can read an excerpt of her book here.

Her poems follow the format used by William Carlos Williams (1883 - 1963), who wrote the following:

This Is Just to Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

 —William Carlos Williams

The above poem by Williams is fairly innocent and rather humorous, and presents the standard format that I use. Note that the first stanza describes what happened, the second typically the consequences, and the third gives the apology that is not sincere.

If you've read any of the false apology poems that I've written, they are neither innocent nor humorous. They are dark and satirical, and are intended to bring the attitudes of white supremacy out into the open. Forgive me.

I welcome any comments and thoughts you might have about them.

See the whole list of false apology poems.

an apology from the Portsmouth Police and the Hampton Roads Jail

In memory of Jamycheal Mitchell, age 24, found dead in his jail cell at Hampton Roads Regional Jail on August 19, 2015, four months after being arrested for allegedly stealing $5 of food.

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we just want to say

Hungry?

bad choice that

taking a mountain dew snickers

and zebra cake

jailed in april

you wasted away

taking up space

waiting for a hospital bed

Forgive us

for wasting tax dollars

we should have executed you

at the scene of the crime

poem by rob g

---

Read the story here.

This poem seems more harsh than some of the others. I think I'm feeling particularly  angry today. Don't know how our black brothers and sisters cope with it, and especially as they know that  any given day might be their last, just because they're black.

This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams.

an apology from NJ State Troopers and the Mercer County Sheriff's Office

For Radazz Hearn, age 14.  Shot seven times on Friday, August 7, 2015, by New Jersey state troopers and Mercer County Sheriff's officer for running away. In stable condition in hospital.

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we just want to say

You went off at a run
in your sweatpants
red as blood
and reached for a ?

our instinct said gun
we shot seven times
to protect the neighbourhood
from thugs like you

Forgive us
for not liking you black and red fashion
it clashes with white folks'
sense of decorum

poem by rob g

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Read an apology from the Waller County Sheriff's Office.

This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams.
Read an explanation of false apology poems.

an apology from St. Louis Police Department Officer Darren Wilson

In memory of Michael Brown, killed August 9, 2014 by SLPD Officer Darren Wilson.

(Photo by AP)

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i just want to say

Newly graduated from high school
you stole from a convenience store
walked down the street
with your friend

I shot you twelve times in the front
now you are dead and I am hated
how inconvenient for me
that I came by and did my duty

Forgive me
those cigarillos
would have killed you in the end
anyway

poem by rob g

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Read more.

This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams.

an apology from the Waller County Sheriff's Office

For Sandra Bland.  Pulled over July 10, 2015 for a standard traffic violation (failure to signal). Dead in a cell July 13, 2015 at the Waller County Jail, Texas.

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we just want to say

You were angry
dangerously black angry
to the point of
not signalling

we dragged you out of the car
face down
you were angry so angry
you killed yourself in jail

Forgive us
for interrupting your dream
of driving yourself
off a bridge

poem by rob g

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Read more about On #SandraBland And The Life-Threatening ‘Angry Black Woman’ Myth

This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams.

an apology from NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo

In memory of Eric Garner, suspected of selling single cigarettes. Put in an illegal chokehold by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo in the process of being arrested on July 17, 2014 and died an hour later.

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i just want to say

I heard you say "I can't leave"
and thought
of course you can't leave
I have you in a choke hold

and so you died
alone
surrounded by courtesy
professionalism and respect

Forgive me
I'm sure someone out there
somewhere
is crying for you

poem by rob g

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Read more.

This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams.

an apology from a white supremacist arsonist

I just want to say


Seven churches burning
within a month
black churches getting blacker
by the moment

give me matches
a can of gasoline
and transportation
I'll make it seventy times seven

Forgive me
I didn't think to bring
enough marshmallows
to share

poem by rob g

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This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams.

an apology from the Charleston shooter

For Pastor Clementa Pinckney, Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, Rev DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Rev Daniel Simmons Snr, Rev Sharonda Singleton, and Myra Thompson. Murdered June 17, 2015 during a prayer service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Charleston, S.C.

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i just want to say

You welcomed me in
to your prayer time
let me sit
were very kind

an hour of that
was all I could take
I shot nine of you
in little time

Forgive me
I shouldn't have pretended
that prayer
mattered to me

poem by rob g

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Read more.

This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams.

an apology from the Fairfax County Sheriff's Department

In memory of Natasha McKenna, age 37, who died on February 8, 2015 after a stun gun was used on her at the Fairfax County Jail on February 2, 2015, while she was fully restrained.

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i just want to say

Fully restrained
handcuffs behind her back, leg shackles, mask
bad girl wouldn't bend her knees for the chair
I tasered her four times with my buddies watching

she had a heart attack
was resuscitated
and died
six days later

Forgive me
even for a black person
a life of mental illness
is just not worth living

poem by rob g

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Read the story here.

This is a false apology poem.

an apology from Cleveland Police Department Officer Michael Brelo

For Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell, an unarmed couple shot 137 times by 13 Cleveland Police Department police officers at the end of a high speed chase, November 29, 2012. This apology is from Michael Brelo, one of those officers.

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i just want to say

you had been speeding
in your nice car
speeding unarmed
with your love

I was afraid
shot 49 bullets into you
while standing on the hood
of your car

Forgive me
if I had spent more time on the firing range
I'd have done the job
with two bullets

poem by rob g

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Read more.

This is a false apology poem in the style of William Carlos Williams.

Back-posted to November 29, 2014, to match the anniversary of their death.