They call them routine traffic stops
They say they are doing their jobs
They call it protecting the streets
They say it was self-defense
They call us a menace
They say we bring it upon ourselves
Tell me why children are left without fathers
Tell me why mothers are left without sons
Tell me why sisters are left without brothers
Tell me why our women are forgotten
Tell me why lives are reduced to a hashtag
Tell me why we are still feared and hated
I tried to write down the names of the dead
I began to weep
How can so many people be stolen
How can so many lives be exterminated
Without so much as a second thought
By some trigger-happy child with a badge and gun
If my ancestors looked down at the world now
What would they say
Would they be proud
Or would they weep at the lack of progress
We are no longer slaves
But we are still not free
We are not free to name our children without ridicule
We are not to basic education
We are not free to safety
We are not free work and earn equal pay
We are not free to walk the streets
We are not free to live without fear
Fear for our lives
Fear for our children
Fear for our homes
Fear of those who swore to protect
Fear of the law that is to be upheld
Fear that one day they win
No comments:
Post a Comment