Tamir Rice is a 12-year-old Black child from Cleveland whose tragic death is the central focus of the poem. He is playing with a plastic pellet gun in a park when he is fatally shot by a white police officer who mistakes the toy for a real weapon. In the poem, he is inextricably linked to the imagery of a small, passive toy boat on a dark sea. The text addresses him directly as "you," mourning his loss and the innocent childhood he represents.

The unnamed narrator of the poem simultaneously contemplates a plastic toy boat and the death of Tamir Rice. The Speaker adopts a somber, grave tone, stripping away the playful nature of childhood toys to reflect on violence and grief. Through intense attention to detail, the Speaker attempts to offer the observation and scrutiny that the responding police officer failed to provide.

Timothy Loehmann is the white Cleveland police officer who shoots and kills 12-year-old Tamir Rice. He responds to a call at the park and fires his weapon without taking the time to closely examine the situation or realize that Rice is a child holding a toy. His lack of attention and quick resort to violence serve as the catalyst for the poem's protest.

Eric Garner is an unarmed Black man from Staten Island whose death at the hands of the NYPD helps ignite the Black Lives Matter movement. Accused of selling individual cigarettes, he is placed in an illegal chokehold by an officer. His last words, "I can't breathe," become a rallying cry for the movement that later protests Tamir Rice's death.

Daniel Pantaleo is a New York Police Department officer who approaches Eric Garner on a Staten Island sidewalk. He places Garner in a chokehold, a move that violates NYPD rules, resulting in Garner's death.

John Crawford is a Black man who is shot and killed by a police officer inside an Ohio Walmart. At the time of his death, he is examining a BB gun for sale in the store. His death occurs just weeks after Eric Garner's and months before Tamir Rice's, contributing to a nationwide pattern of police violence.

Michael Brown is an 18-year-old Black teenager shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. His death, occurring days after John Crawford's, plays a major role in mobilizing protestors on Twitter and generating national attention.

Sandra Bland is a 28-year-old Black woman who is pulled over by a state trooper for failing to use a turn signal. After a hostile traffic stop where the officer threatens her, she is booked into jail and later found dead in her cell. Her death leads her family to win a wrongful-death settlement.

Breonna Taylor is an EMT who is shot several times and killed when Louisville police officers abruptly force entry into her home in March 2020. The killing sparks a new wave of massive protests against police brutality and inspires numerous poetic tributes.

George Floyd is a Black man murdered by a Minneapolis police officer who kneels on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The murder is filmed by outraged bystanders, and the resulting footage heavily intensifies nationwide protests during the summer of 2020.