✊🏻WE✊🏼ARE✊🏽ALL✊🏾EQUAL✊🏿

But the view's fine from here,
they say, all carbon copy cloying concern.

They don't know that the sun doesn't rise
and set quite so exquisitely
when your sky
is on fire.

But the view's from fine here,
they maintain, as unsaid words skulk in the throat.

They don't notice the skin that burns and crackles
and stretches at a breaking point
that's been broken
for years.

But the view's fine from here,
they confirm. And then turn away.

They don't see what shouldn't be seen,
what eyes can't afford to shut
even as glass splinters
edge closer.

And they are right, really,
because their view truly is fine from here.

#BlackLivesMatter i

this nation, fabricated upon their broken spines,
yet still, they gait on fragmented glass.
besought for their valedictory draught,
before the lynch with a knee,
"THUGS"
you, merely afraid,
"looting starts, shooting starts"
to resist the monster of your own making

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐞?
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞?
𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐈 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐛 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐎𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡?
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝑰'𝒎 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡?

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠,
𝐈𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔.
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞
𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝒎𝒚 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝,
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥. 𝐍𝐨𝐭. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩. 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝.
𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞,
𝐁𝐮𝐭, 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐠𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞,

𝐀 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬,
𝐀 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐬.
𝐀𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞,
‘𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄.

𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬,
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬?

𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫,
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞:
𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊. 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒. 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑.

mute and listening.

11 times
i can't breathe
i can't breathe
i can't breathe
i can't breathe
i can't breathe
i can't breathe
i can't breathe
i can't breathe
i can't breathe
i can't breathe
i can't breathe
till beautiful black skin becomes coated in blood red
till mothers and siblings see their loved ones pushed to the concrete
the light in their eyes extinguished
how many times will we see lives murdered on our streets?
how many more times until black lives finally matter?
even if you batter and bruise us, we will not fall
not today, not ever
we will not stop as long as we have to tell our young children they may be shot for just playing
till law enforcement stops comforting white privilege
to them, the lives lost are just another name on a piece of paper that will never be looked at twice
to them
             black lives
                              are a danger.
how was 12 year old Tamir Rice a danger?
how was George Floyd a danger?
and how is suffocation not?
i am not black, but i see you
i will fight for you, fight with you
till black lives finally matter
till we finally get justice.

Let’s think
of the sunk cost fallacy
whereby
the sweat, tears and cash
you’ve ****** into your endeavours
means you never let go
of your burning ambition
so you beg borrow steal
to stave off the immutable truth
that you’re wrong

Then let’s think
that instead of a business
or crazy high jinks
you invested in the sense that
some humans outrank others
at birth
and hidden behind the privilege
of that thought you ignored
what was often in front of your face
or at your work place
or fatally jogging through your neighbourhood
til it shone straight in your eyes

and your beg steal borrowing
does nothing
because lies and filthy ideologies
can’t stand the light of day
so grasp as you will at
the pictures and voices of shills
who defend the grotesque
and try to mess up a people,
a nation,
with fat cat, fat handed,
fat tongued oppression
your fingers *****, but empty

The lesson:

it’s ok to be wrong

it’s ok to draw lines
under ugly pasts
so futures can be brighter,
you can apologise,
learn
and make right