Last year, my heart cracked deep,
Not by a lover, nor a friend I'd keep.
But by the ones I held so high,
The ones whose love should never die.

I sought warmth, a gentle hand,
A place where I could safely stand.
Yet, in their eyes, I was unknown,
A stranger lost within my home.

The words unsaid, the love denied,
The quiet stares, the hollow pride.
All I wanted was to belong,
To hear that I was loved all along.

The weight is heavy, the wound still aches,
A storm that time alone remakes.
But distance now, a needed space,
To heal, to grow, to find my place.

And though the past still haunts my mind,
I choose to heal, to still be kind.
For somewhere out there, hearts remain,
Who’d brave the wild to shield my pain.

So I will walk, though lost I seem,
Towards the love I’ve yet to dream.
And one day soon, the ache will fade,
And I will stand—no longer afraid.

I do not use my words
I do not use my emotions
I do not use my self-control
I do not use my eyes
I do not use my ears
I do not use my mouth
I do not use my tears

I use my hands
I use shiny metal
I use my impulse
I use my intuition
I use my brain
I use flashy silver
I use bandages
I use antibiotic
I use my pain
I use glass
I use scissors

I see the sad and awful color of racism not every other day
But every minutes of the day
I see the serious mental and physical damages
That this cancer has done throughout the ages
And is still doing to our beloved human beings
Others treat our people like they are leftover beans
On a pet's plate. Our people deserve respect
Fairness, justice, acknowledgement
Compassion and better treatment
Our sisters are tired of being left out on the deck
Our siblings are often harassed senselessly, persecuted
Falsely accused and relentlessly prosecuted
At one time, they were hunted by the system
At other time, haunted by an organized medium
Created to destroy, ravage and annihilate
To ridicule, punish and discriminate
I see the color of racism, when the police for no apparent reasons
Stopped, frisked and handcuffed our homeless, elderlies
Or our law abiding citizens, like it was open seasons
To hunt for mule deer or bears, who behave like enemies
Of the civilized society. I see the sick color of racism
When our people are not hired not for being unqualified
But because of their skin color; they're quickly disqualified
Dismissed, fired or terminated. I see the monster of cynicism
Every minutes of the day. The arrogance is unparalleled
Beyond belief. The racists forgot that God only created one race

One human race, one human race.

Their false pride, their ignorance is unleveled
And their audacity, incomparable. I see the colors of racism
Not that I want to search for them, not that I want to find them
Most of the time, I simply cannot evade or escape them
It is not easy to ignore the litanies of bad or negative mannerisms
The bigots easily function like lethal venomous vipers
That **** out the emotions, and that destroy all positive characters
I see the ugly color of racism not every other day
But every minutes of the day.

One human race, one human race.

Copyright © February 24, 2015, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved.
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poems.