Bet you never thought
bet you never knew
in all your training-
your saving of humanity
How you might fly
from a bloodied bed-
bed-o-bullets
Wee hours of the morning
To save Breonna Taylor-
(Oh wait-that would be you)
How you’d plug
up hemorrhaging
police gun holes (6)
Snatch those sheets
make stuffing,
tourniquets
something quick.
Calm nerves. Reassure.
Breathe life back into lungs
airless
from those
who shoot whoever—
don’t ask
(or answer)
questions later.
Did you float
above body-
Float by the way
of
blown away
Look down thinking
“best get busy
do what I do..
Save this decimated
Bullet-riddled-while-minding-her-business,
beautiful Black sister…”
Think
“hmmm…it’s bad
Poor thing never stood a chance
Where to begin
Where to begin
A B C
Airway Breathing Circulation
ABC Deee—amm
It’s
me…”
@Brenda Cave-James 9/26/20
Photo by Maria Oswalt on Unsplash
Find Anne C. Bailey's non-fiction book : 
The frank, spare beauty of this poem makes its tragic story all the more powerful. The horror of a young Black woman who saved lives watching her own slip away is profoundly moving – this is the work of a true master.