One
signature words
"I Can't Breathe"
did you see?
his hands were in his pockets,
while a man's life ebbed away
I wonder, did he feel his soul leave?
a struggle, a pain, desperation -
how can you find peace after that?
a Murder, snapped
on camera
in public
because of a False Allegation
based solely on skin colouration
One Single Variation.
It is not debatable.
do you really need to ask for the explanation?
this is Police Brutality
this is the
Police-Targeting-The-Unarmed-Blackman Story
again.
why don't you understand that this is not okay?
This is proof of a system created so perfect for oppression
that the benefactors are blind to the loss at their gains
Two
Black Lives Matter.
our movement; slandered, torn down, misused - just like us -
misplaced and covered with
Actually, all lives do.
If so tell me
Why I'm always hearing
unarmed blackman looked suspicious
and unarmed blackman was too vicious, malicious
Police Man, so officious, auspicious
just doing his job.
What has you so disconnected from the
things that are happening, the solemnity of the
situation, so detached from your
Institutionalized Racism.
This is not about politics anymore.
This is about human being with the same
beating heart and breathing lungs
wide eyes and shaking hands are the only difference.
You don't have to hear from the age of 5
keep safe, listen, don't fight, be nice.
keep your hands on the dashboard
keep filming, keep hoping, keep praying.
Please,
Come Home Safe
It's easy to hate
as the already hunted, hated.
Three
Too young to act.
Seven-year-olds shot dead
in their homes, women raped
sold, taken, killed.
Don't Talk To Strangers
what happens when they come after me?
catcalling, whistling, grabbing, taking, killing.
The world we live in,
a dumpsite
made of dead bodies
with Soon-To-Be-Dead
Somebodies making a noise
trying to distract the Soon-To-Be-Dead
Nobodies from the dead bodies.
Keep stepping on our shoulders.
Crush our souls while we scrape the economy together from the scraps
at the bottom; no way to stop them.
Don't kill me
Hands up, skirt up, neck to the ground, face first
don't shoot.
Reaching for my license, my pepper spray, my keys
don't shoot
Wearing my favourite hoodie/skirt/pajamas
don't shoot
Walking down the street
Four
I am shocked
but I shouldn't be, really
when I think back it's like
reading a book for the second
with the ending already in mind - you pick up on all the signs.
Maybe I should have listened to those
who chose not to associate
but I wanted to dissect the situation
and find out what and why
so I tried to be nice.
i came to be a smaller version of me
pushed to the back, quiet, not myself
Do Not Have An Outburst - remain civil
But you changed my perspective
with a video elected to
"show the other side of things"
and just like that, the coin dropped
a wake-up call, you can't keep dismissing
their ignorance as intelligence
accepting their half-baked attempt at an apology, no.
Five
I don't know how to move forward.
I believed
we stood united against a worn-out belief
Tore down a system of oppression
our methods were precisely planned out.
Is this why you were stone still during our discussions
we lay down ideas fearlessly,
lead to believe
that we were on the same page
shared feelings of rage
How could I?
We are not the same.
You're included - to a degree.
Eat our food, wear the outfits
Use the slang, sing the lyrics
But it reaches a point
you got mad
when you couldn't use the word
"After all it was such a long time ago"
stopped sharing the hashtag BLACK LIVES MATTER,
when your following dropped
you stopped caring.
Unfortunately, you missed out on the sideways stares in stores
The stunned murmurs when you tame your hair, lower your voice, act accordingly.
You don't get to see your family have
Race-Based Breakdowns
or have them yourself.
Stop trying to be oppressed
Stressed over a life so hated,
wanted until you have it just to hate it,
want to change it -
we're simply trying to survive it.
Comments