Staten Island Ferry Ride

Boarding the boats, we risk
Middle Passage riptides
still rolling in,
badged sharks
in blue.

Today we board to march
for Eric Garner.
Hooked by hysterical
arms, he thrashed
like a caught thing
on the sidewalk.

We roil past Lady Liberty.
Draped in a dingy gown,
her smudged face
stares back.
Weeds grasp
her hem.