Black children dream in colour
But live in a
Racially bias-ly
Undeniably
World obsessed with black and white.
Though nothing ever seems to be black
and white
Lost in the grey area
Where everyone has an image
But still no one gets the picture
Only some see this bigger idea
Only some see that the decisions about us have been taken without us
So, stop screaming about the riots and looters
Because you can’t ever really blame people
Ignored by society for ignoring society
I’ve been struggling to find new words for these same situations
Knowing I’ve exhausted the depths of my vocabulary
Painting protests with my words
And I have been crying
Reflecting and gasping
Grasping and clutching
But I found new words to bleed through today
Fresh cuts planted on unhealed
Perpetual generational wounds
First felt by our ancestors
Still felt by us
You see
A disrespect to others
Stems from a discomfort within
And while you live blissfully in ignorance
These words come from the kind of wisdom
Only pain can teach
So, do you understand your own biases?
Your privileges?
Do you understand that we never wanted to be martyrs made hashtags?
Trending then forgotten
Quietly erased
We just wanted to live equally
To breathe freely
Malcolm x said
That’s not a chip on my shoulder
That’s your foot on my neck
And over 5 decades later
And there are still knees on our necks
We were born with the worlds
Knees on our necks
Closing our throats
Crushing our voices
Silencing us
But I will not be silenced
So, this is for BREONNA TAYLOR
For MARK DUGGAN
For SANDRA BLAND
For GEORGE FLOYD
For BELLY MUJINGA
For ERIC GARNER
For TARIKA WILSON
For TRAYVON MARTIN
For KATHRYN JOHNSTON
For STEPHEN LAWRENCE
For ATTIANA JEFFERSON
For AHMAUD ARBERY
And for all those in between
For all those we lost along the way
For all those who didn’t get to stay
For all those who didn’t see their journey
Or get to see their life take shape.
Remember their faces.
Learn their stories.
Say their names.