Looking for answers in Feguson, Missouri

Yes, young Michael Brown’s been buried
and there’s violence in the streets,
but the issues are not simply black and white.
Like an iceberg, what’s apparent
doesn’t show what might be seen
as we search for what is wrong and what is right.

Racial tensions neath the surface
cannot lightly be dismissed.
After fifty years of protests they remain.
But the problem’s more than color.
There are fifty shades of gray
that run and bleed like posters in the rain.

Who is guilty? That’s the question.
But the answer’s not that clear.
The accomplices are fear, distrust and hate.
Will a verdict be forthcoming?
Will the demonstrations cease?
Can’t we all just get along? We’ll have to wait.