The Rule

A poem in response to the murder of George Floyd and the racist incident in Central Park.

By Michael Stalcup

The posted rule says keep your dogs on-leash.

But if a black man asks you to conform,

feel free to treat him like a dog, to storm

at him and point and threaten to unleash

that well-worn discipline: "I'll call the cops

and say an African American…"—

'cause "Harvard grad," "birdwatcher," "novelist,"

or "neighbor," "person," "stranger," "man," won't stop

this white world quite the way that "black man" will,

won't get police there fierce enough, with knees

on necks—will leave him too much room to breathe,

to be, to speak, to wait for you until

you leash your dog, and stay six feet away,

so he can watch the birds this bright spring day.

Image: “Leash Sign” by Matthew Peoples, Flickr Creative Commons

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Michael Stalcup is a Thai-American missionary living in Bangkok, Thailand, with his wife and three young children. His poetry has been featured (or is forthcoming) in several magazines, including Commonweal Magazine, Faithfully Magazine, First Things, Inheritance Magazine, and Poets Reading the News. You can read more of his poetry at michaelstalcup.com, and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.