savage

is so 
man stay 
savage

so dem 
wretched
and raw

so dem
nyam up
de lamb

as dem 
roll out
de law

so dem
bawl out
fi blood

as dem
wash off
dem hand

is not just 
so 
dem stay

don’t is why 
dem name
man?

Copyright © 2024 by Pamela Mordecai. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on June 27, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.