How long must we bear the weight of silence?
Voices raised in harmony, yet met with fists and flames.
They say our anger must be tempered,
Our cries for justice delivered without trembling hands,
While their history is written in blood, fire, and chains.
They lynched us beneath the stars we prayed to.
Hung our dreams from branches that swayed in the night.
Stole our wealth, our worth, and called it progress,
While we marched with songs instead of swords.
What is this double-edged world?
Where their rage is power,
And ours is animalistic—
Caged, dissected, policed.
Still, we rise with hearts heavy but unbroken.
For we know:
Their strength lies in fear,
And ours lies in love and resilience.
But I ask you now,
Why must the oppressed always be the teachers?
Why must we guide the blind with bruised hands?
When will the oppressors learn
That justice demands more than our restraint?
So here we stand, defiant in our truths.
Voices that will never be silenced again.
For every tree they turned into a gallows,
We plant seeds that grow into forests of freedom.
Our hands, though scarred, will build a future
Where our children fight with neither fists nor voices—
But simply exist,
Unquestioned,
Unbroken,
And free.
"I wrote this piece to express the frustration and pain that comes from witnessing the continuous cycle of oppression and injustice faced by Black people. For too long, we've been forced to fight for our rights with nothing but our voices, while the systems of power continue to silence, harm, and degrade us. This poem is a reflection on the hypocrisy of a world where the oppressed are expected to show restraint while those in power inflict violence without consequence. It is a call for justice, for the end of systemic racism, and for a future where our voices are not only heard but respected. It's a reminder that our resilience, love, and fight for equality will not be silenced. It's also a statement that we are more than what society has tried to make us believe—we are strong, we are powerful, and we deserve to live in peace and freedom."
