It will happen, an honest mistake in a hot August classroom. Someone will blink at the name and swear this “Michael Brown” can’t be that “Michael Brown.” Or someone will be too busy with her head down finishing syllabi to look up and see the flash grenades and tear gas. Someone will be running late, his mind on the cops that will probably ticket him for not having a permit. Someone won’t see why a name is such a big deal. Someone will read his name like the next item on a list of groceries and move to the next student before the first groan rumbles through the stale Missouri air. Someone will start to speak his name and then cover his mouth like a Roman priest closing Janus’s door and praying all the violence of the world will stop short of his porch. Someone will ask, “Michael Brown? Is Michael Brown here?” and we will all have to answer.
Jason McCall, “Roll Call for Michael Brown” (via oofpoetry)
