Their Cries of Protest

By Hugh A Tague

May 4, 1970
Sixty Seven rounds of lead
perforate Blanket Hill.
Nine students wounded;
Allison, Sandra,
William and Jeffrey, are dead.
Triggers were not pulled accidentally;
unnecessary, unwarranted and inexcusable
that’s what was said.

Their Cries of Protest
gave birth to a nation
making Boston Harbor run red.
And fighting against hate
on the hill with Martin Luther King
A nation’s ignorance was shed.

Their Cries of Protest
faced oppression
standing alongside
Mohandas Gandhi.
And for humans everywhere
they were with the Tank Man
in Tiananmen Square.

Their Cries of Protest
in Egypt were more than a million strong
making a dictator step down.
Again they were heard
in the smoke over Baltimore
as it burnt to the ground.

Their Cries of Protest
transcend time and race,
exclusively human
they echo in our soul.
Sixty-seven rounds of lead
perforate Blanket Hill
nine students wounded,
four were dead,
Their Cries of Protest,
we hear still.