I once kept a yard sign out front by the road

With three obvious words in bold white

On a stark black background that caught the eye

Of driver and pedestrian and neighbor.

And as long as I kept that sign outside

I also picked up garbage that was thrown around it

Scattered, discarded trash from lunch’s leftovers

Or cans tossed maliciously from cars

And once even a half eaten salad

Which burst from it’s container all over the driveway.

And everyday when I went outside to clean up

The refuse of someone else’s dissent

I wondered

What kind of person is so hurt inside

That a call for justice fills them with rage

To the point where they vandalize

The home of an uknown person

Who claims the obvious statement:

Black Lives Matter.

And then one day the sign was gone

Ripped from it’s wire frame

Just as life had been ripped away from the many

Who simply yearned to be free.

I still wonder from time to time

Who was throwing trash in my yard

And finding only my willingness to clean up the damage

Let their discontent destroy my proclamation.