"I’m Gonna Breathe" A poem honoring the day when the Floyd Family won their case

I'm Gonna Breathe

A poem by Karen Brittingham-Edmond

I'm gonna breathe

And yes, I can breathe

After surviving all the hatred and lies

God granted me to breathe

Through the dark moments of doubt

When no one else was in my house

God prophesied that I would breathe

But how?

Then finally the day did come

On April 20, 2021

When justice prevailed for my people!

Oh my God

we won?

We jumped down from the gallows where they wanted to see us hang

Our truth,

justice

and everyone else who was just like dang

And as we took flight on justice wings

the air filled our lungs

And child

We started to breathe

And We breathed in love

We breathed in hope

We breathed in courage

We even breathed in the holy ghost.

And he was right, dope!

For all these years we've been holding our breathe

For all these years, we just hoped

And regret

But change came

And our lungs got full

And now no one can stop us from breathing

Whether wearing a badge or a hood

We can breathe

And that's right good.

Breathe