This is not
White vs Black
This is everyone vs Racism
Racism is not just a problem in America
Black Lives Matter!
Say their names
Justice for
Belly Mujinga; George Floyd; Tony McDade; Eric Gardner; Trevor Smith; Breonna Taylor; Sean Fitzgerald; Mark Duggan; Trayvon Martin; Chinedu Okabi; Ahmaud Arbery; Sarah Reed; Michael Brown; Aiyana Jones; Tamir Rice; Jordan Davies; Sean Rigg; Alton Sterling; Phlando Castile; David Dungay; Jamel Floyd; Christopher Alder; David McAtee; Julian Cole; Sheku Bayoh
No Justice, no peace
No freedom until we are equal
White silence is Violence
End Police Brutality
Stomp out racism
Stop killing my people
‘Please…please…please – I can’t breathe…’

I hear you
I see you
I stand with you

I will always return to the sea
I will never tire of the tides
I cannot forget
The ebb and the flow
The drawing back
And the rolling in

For I am a man of the sea
I am briny and shaggy and old
The blue in my eyes
Is drawn from the depths
And the brown of my hide
Scooped from the beds

I will always return to the sea
I will never tire of the tides
I cannot forget
The ebb and the flow
The drawing back
And the rolling in

My wiry beard is woven from weeds
My bones are welded stones
My hands are like starfish
And my feet like rocks
My breath is the gush
And the rush of the foam

I will always return to the sea
I will never tire of the tides
I cannot forget
The ebb and the flow
The drawing back
And the rolling in

If I should fall right off this earth
And my shoulders collapse from the strain
Then burn me through
Collect up my ashes
And scatter me onto the waves

For I am a man of the sea
I am briny and shaggy and old
The blue in my eyes
Is drawn from the depths
And the brown of my hide
Scooped from the beds

I will always return to the sea
I will never tire of the tides
I cannot forget
The ebb and the flow
The drawing back
And the rolling in

Men who justify
Everyday acts of violence towards minorities
In the name of law enforcement

Men who justify
Every acts of ****** predation
On young and vulnerable women

Men who justify
Catastrophic damage to the environment
In the pursuit of material wealth

Men who exploit
The birth rights of others
Through cunning trickery

Expose
And explore the ugly impulses that drive your behaviours

Transform
The dark energies that lurk within you

Educate
Yourselves so that you may treasure others

Extinguish
Your arrogance and shine with decency

Men
This is how you can change the world

The world
Is still a beautiful place
Even though we inhabit
The darkest caves
Of the human soul
In the depths of our lives
Sway cool turquoise lagoons of joy
Pierced by golden sunbeams of hope
Fresh running streams of laughter
Nourish bodies vibrant with health
There are unending riches
And there is peace

The world is still a beautiful place
Seeking spirits
Will in the end
Take us beyond the shadows
Of our foolish existence
And will lead us finally
To the light

Like a teenager, feeling bored
I sit in the too hot sun
And I can’t think what
Whatever should be done

It’s a Sunday feeling
Through and through
My soul reflecting
The sky of blue

I keep looking for things
Outside myself
To remove this feeling
And feel something else

Perhaps I can chase off
The hungry flies
That buzz around
Disturbing the quiet

But I don’t want peace
Or even quiet
I want an adventure
Something to try out

I want strange things
Never seen before
I want to escape
Break down some doors

I want to
I want
I want
I…think

I need
To stop
And…rest
I think

Perhaps I'm ill?
I'm not myself
Becoming instead
Like someone else?

It’s Sunday
I’m too hot
And that's what
I've got

I will wait
It will pass
If I lie
On the grass

Today
I painted two pictures
Retrieved an empty sweet packet
And a football
Drifting in the sea
As I took
A cooling swim
I played cards with my daughter
Spoke to my sister
Finished my book
Made lunch and dinner
And wondered about my inner ambitions
My restless desires
And I let them go
A little

America is burning
Once again

The rage of good kind people
Burns
At this cruel
Barbarism

Why is it
That skin colour
Still divides
Human beings

They say
'Things have changed'
'Things are better now'

But has anything changed?
Really?

Can anyone
Say anything
To put this terrible wrong
To right?

Does anybody
Have an answer
To this human sickness?