Ridging the Arts: “Black Lives Matter: Mother and Child”

“Black Lives Matter: Mother and Child”
(A painting and a prayer)
By Deirdre Laughton

She loves her child.
And he is gone now. Just that.

So many parents and children of color, gone,
killed monthly, weekly, sometimes daily now.

So much rhetoric, so much blame, so many dreams murdered:
dreams of life, of liberty, of justice, of humanity.

She loves her child.
And he is gone now. Just that.

In the painting only
The night winds blow gently around her grieving heart

And I know the stars would rage and weep with her
But we are still in hiding,

She loves her child.
And he is gone now. Just that,
again and again and again.

Please God, stars
Come out of hiding.
Shine.

Help us face it.
Help us change it.

Deirdre Laughton is an artist born and raised in NYC. She has lived in Bay Ridge for the last 15 years.

“Ridging the Arts” is a regular feature showcasing the work of local writers and visual artists.