W.J. Loftonâs visual poem We Ask For Fire is a powerful work that partially reflects on Breonna Taylorâs tragic death at the hands of Louisville police.
In the poem, Lofton repeats the words âthe cops who murdered Breonna Taylor are at home with their familiesâ as protesters and justice advocates are left picking up the pieces after the atrocious incident. It has inspired filmmaker Ava DuVernay to commission him to create another poem surrounding police violence.
âI was deeply moved,â DuVernay tells TIME. âThe idea that one artist was able to unite a very striking written voice with a visual voiceâa marriage of the vocabulary it takes to be potent in both formsâwas very interesting to me.â
DuVernay, for her Law Enforcement Accountability Project (LEAP), had Lofton further his quest for truth surrounding Taylorâs case, and resulted in Would You Kill God Too?, which debuted on Sunday.
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In the poem, Lofton asks a series of questions to three Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officersâJonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgroveâwho conducted a âno knockâ warrant raid on Taylorâs apartment last March. During the raid, the officers fired more than thirty shots into her residence, killing the 26-year-old EMT.
âHow do you explain this to your children?â he asks the officers. âDid you tell them the blood on your shoes belonged to a Black girl, or is she not worth mentioning?⌠God was in the room when you made a massacre out of someoneâs child.â
âI wanted to confront them like they confronted Breonna,â Lofton told TIME. âItâs so important to constantly name the officers, so they donât get to go back and just live their lives after theyâve taken someoneâs life.â
Watch the powerful Would You Kill God Too? visual poem below.