Jury, I Am Innocent! - Kenny Boyd

Your Honor, Your Highness, Your Grace
I am under oath; I call myself to the stand.
I am a fool in a court of fools, no disrespect.
I wear clean clothes, crisp and pristine
Coat slicked back; hands washed away of any crimes.

Your Honor, I was charged unlawfully, unkindly, unarmed.
My dexterous thumbs slapped back with cold metal cuffs.
Your Honor, I plead you,
Jury, I beg you, I Am Innocent!

Born black and gray
Turned in black and blue!
My Mask is a permanent fixture,
stained on labels I cannot take off
unless I peel my skin back
exposing muscle and bone—

I was born this way, Hearsay!
Charged like a criminal,
unbelievable, it’s true.

Jury, I Am Innocent.

Your Honor, I am accused of ill intent.
Filthy gossip mucks up my name
I itch to scrub the muck away till my hair falls
down, leaving bright red patches and rashes.
I wake every morning bushy-tailed, dark-eyed,
stripes at the end of my tailbone.
There is nothing wrong with me
except for this society
that accuses me of wrongdoing.

Jury, I Am Innocent!

Your Honor, it’s nothing but a false truth.
A bandit, they howl at me.
Coon, children parrot towards me,
sheltered under a mother’s hand
I refuse to become tinder to a bonfire.

I wear my mask with Pride.
My stripes are proudly shown wide
across my bushy tail,
I will strut out of this courtroom
in invisible cuffs.

For I am simply a Racoon,
and your verdict will always be Guilty.