Shot in the Black

I see you, 

brave, beautiful...

silhouette, graceful

yet cautious 

with ancient knowing...

Darkness at once 

mystified 

and demonized.

Suspicious 

to the fearful, 

outcast,

Lest you become 

Wholly (Holy)

equal.

Celestial body 

in transit,

I see you...

Cast out

with one shot

into the vast 

universe,

itself dark

yet burning 

with eternal

light.

——
photo credit and inspiration for poem by campaign No More Black Targets

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4246870/Petition-stop-using-black-targets.html

activists petitioning (2017) to end the use of black silhouettes as targets for shooting practice due to establishing unconscious race bias.