Before you judge, ask why is it this way?
Listen to them, take it in is what I’d advise
All lives matter is what you say?
Could you please try and hear their voice?
Kindness could eventually beat this hate

Listen to their cries, worries and fear
Is that really what you want to hear?
Violence and mistreatment happens
Energy & positivity is the way to go
Stand up tall & lift your hands up in the air

Maybe if black lives matter then all lives will
Are you ready to take part?
To show the world the fire that is in your heart
To fight against the prejudice and malice?
Each person should unite and fight
Remember to lift your hands in the air

i wonder if you know what it's like to be them
to have to carry your hands on the sides of your body
because keeping them in the pocket of your hoodie would lead to speculation
that you're carrying a weapon you're in no possession of
eyes on you wherever you go
warnings made over the radio
demands from behind you
"hands over your head where i can see them"
the sound of incoming sirens cue a scene they're far too familiar with
as you sit in the audience, row M, popcorn in your hand, watching the star in suspense
“but officer I’m not carrying a weapon, look—“
…
Boom.
suspicion is justifiable for a bullet hole in their chest
does that same rule apply to you?
…
i wonder if you know what it's like to be in the presence of another
and sense the shift in their body as they do their best to distance themselves from you
because apparently there's an imprint across your forehead that screams:
DANGER
...
you probably don't
because it is you who shifts uncomfortably
clutching a little tighter to your purse and wallet
...
who was the first person who told you to stay away?
…
i wonder if you know what it feels like to have expectations already made for you
they are nothing in comparison to the ones you are assigned at birth
they are nothing like the expectations you are molded into as a child
because unlike them,
you are told you can accomplish anything
you are told you can fight for what you believe in
with no repercussions
you are told you can become whoever you want to be
and you never doubt it
unlike you,
they are the ones placed under the knees of blue in suffocation
another byproduct of history
the expectations placed on them are ones that have been running through the vines of their family tree ever since its seed was planted on this foreign soil
...
they very same ones that deem them
inferior
lazy
dangerous
...
all attributes used to create a segregation amongst us people
a definitive fine line
that if one oversteps
proclaiming unity and equity among us all
prepare for the raise of a hand
a baton enwrapped by fingers who are supposed to instill peace
they've reigned terror on the same people they're assigned to protect
a contradiction, wouldn't you agree?
"Land of the Free"
then why are so many of our people expected to succumb to oppression and dehumanization
why'll the rest of us reside comfortably in our luxury and privilege?
without worry of an invasion
8 shots released in deep sleep
"wrong house" they said...
but this is america
right?
...
i wonder if you've lived life being told you'll fall under the same pattern as your ancestors
that there is no way of breaking the chain
...
i wonder if you know what it feels like to be treated as a token everyone loves displaying for attention
but when the moment comes to fight their truth
...
that attention ceases to exist
...
i wonder if you realize your duty in this fight for justice
but if you don't
i congratulate you
...
you've lived a life safe and sound
away from interrogation
fear
strictness
alertness
you've lived a life where the color of your skin does not predict your destiny
it's formed a shield
a layer that obliterates
accusation
gunshots
abuse
neglect
and prejudice in its most destructive form
...
to be born in this nation as white is the equivalent of getting a head start in the 400m relay we call life
running gracefully with the most opulent shoes for support
jumping over hurdles with an effortless ease
coached by the best of the best
your privilege awards you the golden ticket
tell me
why are you so reluctant in using it for justice?
-c. alejandra

i want to remember
everything.

i fall back
and time holds me,
i see the beginning of the world,
the earth anew,
all peoples collide
and are one,
i am you
and you are me,
we are the same
yet so unique.

but i am awaken to
reality.

Black lives matter
All lives matter
Everyone should be treated the same
Loved the same
I’m George Floyd - say my name
For those who have suffered
We can’t stay silent - or ignore their pain
Now we have spoken out-that’s not enough
We must take action
So this never happens again
How has it taken us so long to respond?
To things that started years ago
Across the pond
Dear injustice- dear racism
You don’t deserve to live in our world
So with our weapons of love
We’ll keep fighting-keep pushing
Till your defeated-
and drowned out by our voices
Black lives matter!
We may never go through what you have
But we support you- we will lift you high
Till you and your names - touch the sky
We will unite in power-in prayer
And in our hearts
For We all bleed the same
Your George floyd -we’ll always remember your name
Such a great loss! But you caused a greater gain
A movement that will change the world
Sad it took something like this
For us all to awake
But all for justice
So no more die in vain

there's no advance
to this thing
i'm writing

i've heard tons on
tons of the palisades
and i've never lived
west of the
missouri and
where are the palisades
define it
geographically
a minimal

comprehension or-
some other thing-
of the perception
of how people
talk
here
in
missouri

would go a far long
ways in the palisades
somewhere in
flor'da                              or
califor'nia
god i wish i'd known
the weight-per-
pound a baton
centered on a
human forehead

but you had

i hadn't

The minority will always be painted ugly by hoarded privilege.
So they can hide their greed and ignorance in their perfect image.
The American reality that discriminates and incarcerates, will use our anger as bait.
We become their tools to start fires and spark violence,
so they can asserts their forces and keep us silenced.
We think the chaos now is giving us an American voice,
But choosing to ignore justice for us has always been their choice.
They stole this land with unfair fights,
They made the constitution and cite their rights,
But they won’t share any of it if you’re not white.

WE CAN’T BREATHE
WHEN YOU COVER OUR MOUTHS.

Announcing all lives matter is audacious & abusive & antagonistic & antiprogressive - yet amazingly it’s always anticipated. But when signs & songs & screams & shouts of our sisters with skin of a separate shade are shot down & softened & silenced, and when the bodies of our brothers brandishing blackness with bravado are broken & beaten & burned & buried by people with perceived power prescribing punishment by punching & pushing & pulling triggers-

Well
One thing remains perfectly clear
Declaring “all lives matter” is rooted in fear
If all lives mattered, then we wouldn’t be here
and “all lives matter” wouldn’t be said with a sneer

Black lives don’t matter

Mattering means more than media manipulating messages mainly for monetary magnitude or validating various vocations as veracious while these villains vie for votes vainly vanquishing value from humans whose hearts are heavy with hurt and having to beg to be heard. Mattering means more than making memes and multimedia messages post mortem when morally bankrupt men ****** men and their mates for their midnight complexion

So don’t tell me black lives matter
Black lives don’t matter
Black lives should matter
Black lives must matter