What Comes Up When You Think About Breonna Taylor?
a collaborative poem created by
Erin Binney, Jennifer Laurenza, Aprell May, Jasmin Rivas,
Amy Stonestrom, & Erin Sadler
Black and brown bodies hunted down.
A book that changed my life:
War Against All Puerto Ricans
the King of the Towels
tortured
in an island prison called La Princesa.
Crying at the
injustice grief pain devastation.
Chalk, blue dress, innocent sleeper.
They protested.
To no avail.
We need to change the system
change abuse
stop systemic racism.
I protested!
I wrote about her
life taken
her story withheld.
We protested.
Heavy heart
How did this happen?
We know how it happened.
We need to change the system
change abuse
stop systemic racism.
Black lives matter.
About the Writers
This collaborative poem was created by six Bay Path MFA students in response to a creative prompt given by student Jasmin Rivas.
Erin Binney is a Sagittarius, an INFJ, a 1 on the Enneagram, and a firm believer that people are complex beings who shouldn’t be put into boxes. She writes about family history.
Jennifer Laurenza is a practicing psychotherapist who writes for self-preservation and creative expression. She specializes in LGBTQ mental health, and is an advocate for the LGBTQ community and other marginalized populations.
Aprell May is completing her final year in the MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Bay Path University. She is interning at the Springfield Library and Museums in collaboration with a collector to reimagine the Native American Hall and to manifest a living community exhibit.
Jasmin Rivas is an after-school program administrator, yoga instructor, and poet in the community she grew up in. She is a social justice warrior whose intention is to write stories that help people heal.
Amy Stonestrom writes about family, religion, and politics. Her work has appeared in Brevity, Storm Cellar Quarterly, Barnstorm Journal, Superstition Review, and others. You can find her at amystonestrom.com.
Erin Sadler is a licensed psychologist who specializes in working with people who have been diagnosed with cancer. She writes to forge connections that inspire, heal, and unite people.