Originally, “Rate of Death” was inspired by the consistent, yet ever-changing bass from “Nuttin’ But a Word” by Rennie Harris Puremovement. I wrote the first two lines of the poem the night of the performance. Thematically, my inspiration came from the duet which told a story about police brutality. Brought to tears, I wanted to share that pain through words just as the duo had shared their pain through dance.
inspired by Rennie Harris/Puremovement - Nuttin’ But a Word
Is that the thump of my heart
or the beat of the bullets?
Six months gone since graduation.
Bullets hit the chest
of a boy in the grade below us
on Tutwiler.
He saves his girlfriend by death.
Three years prior, midtown Memphis.
Across the street at Mclean Mart,
One of two boys has a gun to his face.
The other hides in the candy section.
His body shivers and trembles against his will
while one aisle over the hammer cocks.
The trigger never pulls.
The next time I go to Mclean Mart,
there are security cameras.
One year later, downtown Cincinnati.
On my walk to Kroger, I see a boy.
He is asleep in the doorway of an apartment.
On my walk home, I see a van and caution tape.
He is in a body bag.
My body shakes and quivers.
I thought he was still breathing.
I thought he was still breathing.
Ten months later, midtown Memphis.
A man on the ground next to his motorcycle on Jackson.
My two friends heard the crash,
But I was the first to see the body.
We stand across the street, in front of our home.
The ambulance bathes our bodies in red.
They take away his body : still as stone.
