Vita brevis

Amadou had a gun Or so it seemed But none of that matters Living the ghetto dream Amadou had his wallet Standing in the door Murphy and the Mellon Saw his dark form "Do as we say" The words so strange The green card he kept Now red with blood stains "He's got a gun" Said the Boss to the Bronx 4 "Get him down" They called for 41 more Vita brevis The empty shell Shot through the chest And down he fell "Don't say murder Don't say sin It woulda been us So it had to be him"* "A wallet a gun How could we tell We told him to freeze and he ran like hell" "The Boss shot him first" "But Murphy killed him last" The Bronx 4 like rats fought Trying to save their own ass The jury spoke And as it had to be The Boss and Bronx 4 Were finally set free "What I learned from Police Rex" Amadou ghost howls of this "Do as they commands For you never know vita brevis"I wrote this in response to the killing of West African immigrant, Amadou Diallo, in 1999 by 4 police officers in the Bronx during their search for a rape suspect.  He pulled out his wallet to show his green card and was shot 41 times. Written November 15th, 2001 © on Dec 12 2001 09:17 AM PST   0 • 9