By THOMAS R. SMITH
No one could track all that was going on,
but a pink-jacketed woman horrifically,
dangerously close caught it on video.
Alex Pretti beaten to the ground,
shot in the back ten times in five seconds
she recorded through terror and confusion,
and managed to escape without ICE
seizing her phone. Helped by a woman
who gave her a different coat for cover,
the “pink-jacketed woman” vanished,
escaped to explode the regime’s lies.
When I hear the word “cowardice” I think
of muscle-bound, gun-toting thugs claiming
self-defense against protesters with signs
and whistles, and how Homeland Security
shields them from legal accountability.
When I hear the word “heroism” I think
of Stella Carlson, the “pink-jacketed
woman,” who absorbed the trauma up close
and with nothing but her bravery
to shield her gave the whole world the truth.
THOMAS R. SMITH is an American poet, essayist, teacher and editor. His work has appeared in numerous anthologies and journals in the U.S. and internationally.
