"blacklivesmatter" poems
Sometimes, I am in love with myself.
I force them to witness my love for my melanin
because they would love for me to hate my melanin.
I know that I am seen, but I want to be heard,
The first amendment allows me to speak, but they refused to hear a word-
that comes from my mouth.
My lips stereotyped as too black.
My diction too proper to act like this,
yet my slang is too ghetto to act like that...
Sometimes, I wonder what it's like to be white.
I hate being stared at when I speak in Spanish.
I never know if it's in disgust or in comfort,
because the sound of the double "r" rolling off of my tongue
sounds like the ricochet of the bullets they fire from their guns.
Since they no longer can enslave us like animals, they slaughter us
because, "if I can't have you no one can."
I refuse to be put down.
I refuse to shutdown.
My brown skin threatens,
and you all should be afraid.
Because I will banish your negativity with my Latin American flow,
speaking in Spanish with the Bachata tempo filling my veins.
My Ebonics is iconic,
and I refuse to be put in a box when the world is a sphere.
I... am more... than this.
Jul 8, 2016
Jul 8, 2016 at 2:16 AM UTC
My Country Tis of Thee,
Sweet land of liberty-
Or so we sing.
Land where my fathers died-
But my forefathers died in a battle
Trying to keep their slaves;
My fathers killed your fathers
For trying to run away;
My fathers **** your fathers
Cause it's late at night, and
He's reaching for his gun-no, wait,
His ID?
Land of the pilgrim's pride-
But so often we leave out of history
How if it weren't for a Native American,
The pilgrims would've died.
From every mountainside-
Like Stone Mountain in Georgia,
Where Rebel Generals are memorialized,
Where the **** was revived-
God, help me, I can't hear freedom's ring;
I can only hear white-washed history.
From every mountainside-
But these days, the mountain is in my chest,
And liberty's ring sounds a lot different,
And a lot of folks don't like it.
Let freedom ring-
And I want to fight for freedom for all-
#BlackLivesMatter-
I want to help-
HANDS UP, DON'T SHOOT!
But-
I
Can't
Breathe.
Let freedom ring!-
But peaceful protests turn into
Bloodbaths as those who have sworn
To serve and protect are sniped down.
Let freedom ring!-
I try to educate myself
On the side of history not taught-
I've always felt that Nat Turner was the bad guy,
But these days I'm questioning it.
I read "The Meaning of Fourth of July for the *****
by Frederick Douglass
And I read "Bury Me in a Free Land"
by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
and I read "Sympathy"
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
and I read "Letters from Birmingham Jail",
"The Mountaintop Speech", and
"I Have a Dream"
by Dr. King.
When I was younger,
I'd research Dr. King & his colleagues
For fun.
I'd wonder, "If I lived in the Civil Rights era,
What would I have done?"
But when I turned seventeen,
I realized, "I live in a Civil Rights era;
What am I going to do?
Jul 11, 2016
Jul 11, 2016 at 5:28 PM UTC
I wonder what would happen if i bleached my skin
What kind of twisted world i would live in
If one day i decided to do what the world demanded
And strip my melanin
I wonder what would happen if i burnt my hair to a crisp
If barbie doll hair was on my birthday wishlist
If one day i suddenly looked like
Taylor swift
The problem with this fowl dream
Is that it’s forgetting one thing
The thing in which i live and breath
My sanity
If one day i bleached my skin
And society decided to let me in
I would have tarnished God's creation
For equality
unnecessarily demanding humane unity
And Maybe if i bleach my skin
An officer wouldn’t shoot me
But What should be happening is me taking a stand
And saying it’s not him against me
But us against the hatred that makes individuals choose me
Single me out because of my skin
Fearing me because i’m chock full of melanin
Saying #allLivesMatter instead of #blackLivesMatter because if we let one house burn the rest of the town wins
But at the bottom of this is was and always will be hatred
And just because your side of the boat doesn’t have a hole doesn’t mean we’re not all sinking
So i suggest you do something.
Jul 14, 2016
Jul 14, 2016 at 12:25 AM UTC
I cried when Barack Obama left office, and I cried for Joe Biden too, as though I'd lost parents of mine,
But Mike Brown and the others had it coming, they were probably resisting arrest,
So love me, love me love me, I'm a liberal
I go to pro choice rallies and I chant about female anatomy,
I retweeted a #blacklivesmatter tweet once, I think that's just as good as a protest
But don't talk about revolution, that's going a little bit too far
So love me, love me love me, I'm a liberal
I cheered Bernie on the whole way, but eventually settled on Clinton,
I would do anything for free healthcare and education, as long as my taxes aren't too much more
I love all the minorities too, as long as they don't move next door
So love me, love me love me, I'm a liberal
The people who voted for Trump, should all hang their heads in shame,
I can't understand where they're at, John Oliver should set them straight
But if you burn an American flag, I hope the cops take down your name
So love me, love me love me I'm a liberal
I read Huffington Post, and Rolling Stone too,
If I vote it's a Democrat with a sensible economic view,
But when it comes to rioters in the streets punching nazis, there's no one more red white and blue
So love me, love me love me, I'm a liberal
Once I was young and my heart bleeding, I bought every Coexist bumper sticker I saw,
Even marched alongside the socialists, thought I could bring the system down with the power of love,
But I've grown older and wiser, and that's why I'm turning you in
So love me, love me love me, I'm a liberal
Love me, love me love me, I'm a liberal
Jan 24, 2017
Jan 24, 2017 at 5:09 AM UTC
Like air to lungs
Like love to lovers
Like life to death
Till death do us part
Till God makes us see
In him we all need
One another
One after the other
Brotha & Brother
Sister 2 Sista
Like water to a well
Lets not wait until it runs dry
Eyes wont dry
Until another color cries
With us, not for us
There is only one race
the hueman race
translation
man of color
many colors of men
Color coated pain
Assorted flavors of oppression
All leave a bitter taste
In the mouth of a wordsmith
these words hit like bricks
against walls
in glass houses
with paper doll people
the revolution is being televised
because revolution cannot be heard
without being seen
focus your lense
See yourself
Apr 13, 2015
Apr 13, 2015 at 12:08 PM UTC
i cannot sleep
i am wired with fury
flooding, storming
through my veins choking my heart
burning a hole in my stomach
because another black body has been
stolen
a heart
stopped
a voice
silenced
at the hands of an officer
(serve & protect?)
dried blood has hardened on the corners
of the pages of the book he was holding
when he was murdered
and now his name will become a
headline
a hashtag
and who will explain to his son
why he couldn't make it to the bus stop?
why wasn't his life worth protecting
why is his death an argument
why isn't anyone
l i s t e n i n g
while black folk are on the streets
s c r e a m i n g
blacklivesmatter
but the killing doesn't stop
and the blood is always fresh
and that is why
i cannot sleep tonight.
t.m. 1:29 am
Sep 29, 2016
Sep 29, 2016 at 12:24 AM UTC
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
Jun 3, 2020
Jun 3, 2020 at 4:50 AM UTC
I want to die hungry
I want to die knowing life meant something
I want to die with piles of work unfinished....
unfinished poems
unfinished books
unfinished illustrations
unfinished paintings...
I want to die knowing I tried to my very last breath
to make this world a better place
that I tried to shed light into the worlds darkness
that I tried to transform something cold
and heartless and ugly into something beautiful
That I did not turn a blind eye
to the poor and the hungry and the homeless
That I spoke up when inequality was still a monster
guarding capital hill
and its stash of gold and treasure for the 1%
That I acknowledge that white privilege
was a serpent in the court room
devouring real justice
while turning a blind eye
to the crimes of daddies little boy
who just made a mistake for "twenty minutes"
over and over
again and again
in and out
in and out
for "twenty minutes"
and why should "twenty" consecutive "minutes"
of poor choices ruin his whole privileged...
I mean promising life...
That white privilege was obvious
when one person convicted of ****
walked free in three months
while other men just accused of ****
found but not proven guilty
spent decades behind bars
to only be eventually freed
when their accusers told the truth
about how they had lied
and none of it happened
and if you can't guess the difference between the two
you probably believe the world is flat
and that white privilege and climate change and global warming
are paranoid delusions of people who are lazy and worthless
and want something for nothing
That the dead no matter their color
still need to see their murders pay
for what they have stolen
what they have broken
and the pain they left behind
when they decided that when
they "feared" for their life
it went from to protect and serve
the community and the people
to I'm going to **** this ************
That I knew that #blacklivesmatter
was a call for justice and equality
not special treatment or supremacy
That the vocabulary of my sons heart
did not know the word hate
other than when he said things like
"YUCK!, I hate GREEN BEANS!"
That he not only understood kindness
but he knew and lived by its importance
that he strived for compassion and empathy
that he treated generosity and helpfulness
as a responsibility to those in need
that his pursuits of happiness
included helping others in their pursuits
That he loved and gave with a heart
that was always full
that was always hungry
from the time that I leave him
to the time he takes his own last breath
that he lived
to make this world a better place
that he tried to shed light into the worlds darkness
that he tried to transform something cold
and heartless and ugly into something beautiful
Sep 23, 2017
Sep 23, 2017 at 3:40 PM UTC
They're on administrative leave like they asked us permission to leave our bodies... Lifeless
Or
They should have gotten permission to be dismissed BEFORE they left our bodies... Lifeless
Land of the free....How about Land on our Knees
Where we should be until we all can stand as tall as a tree.... Not hanging, from a tree
The noose has been replaced by a shiny black casing, The broken neck has been replaced by blood freely flowing The tree has been used to make OUR encasing.... The result... [hashtag]this [hashtag]that [hashtag]blacklivesmatter
but... [hashtag]itdoesntmatter because apparently we are not all made of equal matter
Sterling Silver used to be considered quality , but apparently...that's dead.
B stands for bold. Beautiful. Brave. Boisterious, without the B in black there consists just a Lack of color, creativity, attitude...
Lying to us daily, telling us our skin color isn't a crime only that it cuts short our time to be
Alive. Breathing, Heart beating, Lub Dub Lub Dub Lu....ve you are the two words that you may never hear. Are the two words that they don't get to hear because
Crack. Pop pop pop Hands up Don't ..... Blood flowing on the streets, like road **** except I'd hoped by now evolution would have taken us to the top of the animal kingdom, but there's still more outrage over Harambi the silverback than Philando Castile, violently attacked...
Pronunciation please: Blac (black) B-L-A-C
is still the same pronouncement without the
K.....K... K . Still afraid to wake up day after day after day... Not knowing if this could be our last where the blackness on our skin becomes our permanent surroundings
Or Not knowing if this could be our last where the blackness on our skin becomes the ghost of Christmas future, the past and present left to rest in peace...
We should be praising the Lord when we wake up on the land of living, breathing, heart beating, lub dub lub dub....
HANDS UP ..... But you asked for my license's I was already reaching...
Don't shoot.... But I wasn't planning to, my four year old is in clear view.
May 31, 2017
May 31, 2017 at 9:14 PM UTC
I pray the lord my soul to keep if I were to end up under a white sheet, hoping I don't get shot, pull out the glock, killing my people off because our melanin pops. Brothers and sisters banding together seems to shake you to your very core; terrified that we could be so much more; positive role models, with our beautiful excess pigmentation. We don't fit into your back drop; your white frame, we thought we had changed the game, escaped the chains but everything remains the same. Now we remain target practice for your racist game, you are drunk with power now, believing you are in control, ignorance is bless; but our indignation is the fist that will knock you out of your ignorant bless. I'm not saying they're all bad but the violence has to stop. #blacklivesmatter
Jul 9, 2016
Jul 9, 2016 at 11:20 AM UTC
I now tell you a #storyofmylife,
Starting in the autumn of #2007 with quite a strife,
To be precise say #barcamp for my very first one,
since then people have used #hashtag for
#fahsion, #selfie, #art and #fun.
Anyhow I am nothing like a number sign,
Nor do I stand alone like a straight #line.
You may dislike the way people #followme,
Or you might to #follow along with a sense of #glee.
But don't I just #love #my #friends,
You let me know the #world, #news, and a sense of #motivation.
With you I have lived through many a
#bestoftheday, #night and #cool #lifestyle passion.
Since my #birthday you hand me many #powerofdreams,
#IceBucketChallenge,#BlackLivesMatter, #BringBackOurGirls, #LoveWins,
As I live on in the #songs and #voices of vibrant #life hour,
In this point we emerge into a stream of #peoplepower.
Along the #tenyears lifespan #we continue to see,
Singing along with #music, #beauty and #life of diversity,
#myself #work #happily #4youreyesonly
#smile #peace #love #withme
May 29, 2017
May 29, 2017 at 1:12 PM UTC
Days upon weeks of weak and dismay.
Clocked upon the hour the nights turned sour.
In Alarm and outspoken, It tears through the curtain.
We leave amongst ourselves, while they plead for help. To
Stand is to grow, to truly understand, no one may never know.
If all could be trusted and loyal, we may never have ended so low.
This I know, find something that you can’t let go. Under all
Costs find something that could never be taken or lost, we must.
Feelings at a loss when encouraged by the jaws, and squawks.
Eyes that stock only to be forgot.
We’ve forgot, what it is that makes our heart pump. In a slump of
Blinded chumps. What have we become?
Our day is up nothing left to disrupt.
Minds of slumber, taking action undercover. What else to conquer?
We’ve drove out the “other”, what else to discover? Hmm I wonder?
Butchered to be ordered, a revolution, we cannot afford. Tally up the
Score, for them to ignore.
Jul 8, 2016
Jul 8, 2016 at 9:20 PM UTC
This Pain
What Can We Gain From This Pain
My Melanin Is A Weapon
It's Feared In Those Who Don't Know Me
I Can Walk And Feel The Earth Around Me
She's Crying And Wishes To Be Laid At Rest
My Mind Is In Loops
While Society Trying To Fit Me Into Stereotypical Groups
I Loose Myself.....
I Try To Sit Up Straight & Speak Proper , I Bleach My Skin , & Straighten My Hair For If I Am Not Me Am I Already Dead......
Powerful Kings I've Seen Sooo Many Laid At Rest
Powerful Kings With Strong Minds & Intellect
Fell Into Societies Trap , Now You Feel The Need To Trap, To Sip On Syrup & Kickback
Instead Of Planting Your Feet And Feel The Earth Grow
For You Are My Kings & We Are Your Queens , We Need Love
Stand As One & Sacrifice Sanity
Break The Chains
Before We Lose What's Near
Break The Chains
For I See Your Worth Your Strength & Your Power
For You Are The Kings & Queens Of The Everlasting Hour
This Pain.....
What Am I To Do With This Pain
Feel From The Dirt Of Our Fallen
Inhale & Connect With Them
Take Their Legacy And Grow
For This Pain Shall Not End If We Do Not Begin
Stand Up And Rewrite Your Fate In The "Free Land Of AmeriKKKa!!"
-KBell #theunjustmind
Jul 13, 2016
Jul 13, 2016 at 9:14 PM UTC
A man driving a semi truck down a closed highway towards thousands of kneeling peaceful protestors was not an accident.
My wife and I were there. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the love and solidarity I felt from the community as we chanted for justice—an elderly Black man with a walking cane telling me about how he’s still in the struggle for his grand babies; families honking and throwing up fists from their cars; teens dancing and singing; folks handing out water bottles and food. We marched from US Bank Stadium to the middle of highway 35W and knelt for a moment of silence for George Floyd.
As we were still on the ground, many of us kneeling and sitting, I glanced behind me to abruptly see panicking and screaming. We jumped up and dispersed with the crowd. All I could think of was finding my wife and protecting her. We clung to each other and ran as far off of the highway as we could. Within minutes, dozens of police vehicles showed up and, as we stood in shock at the edge of the highway, one vehicle needlessly sprayed us with mace. Choking and sneezing, we hopped a nearby fence to get even farther away.
As we walked down town to get to our car, already frazzled, folks kept warning us not to go down certain streets because they saw armed white supremacists waiting.
Thankfully, good friends came and gave us a ride to our car. We’re home and safe now.
I say all this to let folks know our message of justice and peace is being strategically infiltrated by white supremacists and police officers. This isn’t anything new. This has always happened throughout history. Plenty of others will confirm this has happened and is continuing to happen.
My body is tense and my system is on fire. I feel angry—yet resilient and determined. Because I know there are more people taking care of each other and working to end systems of oppression than there are people trying to incite violence and fear. And I believe that we will win.
-Joseph Micheal Davis
#BlackLivesMatter #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd
May 31, 2020
May 31, 2020 at 10:53 PM UTC
Many, are aware that police officers with roguish behavior that creates havoc against citizens.
Gets a go-green card.
But sometimes your protest must address mess within your own community.
No one, but a few disagree with BlackLivesMatter logic.
Except, maybe tackling a broad problem might be needed within their agenda.
Constantly, and daily a shooting occurs within the black community.
And the arresting suspect most likely is on a color complexion.
So a life of blackness should matter when crime happens too.
Mothers, quit protesting the wayward youth.
A hardhead must be left to face justice.
Girlfriends, wives, quit protecting a fool that refuses to listen.
Leave those "pity party" folks debating you shouldn't have abandon them.
When in truth they wasn't trying to change.
Protect a criminal only play for so long.
Blacklivesmatters, tackle issues that many ministers refuses to tackle.
Except in sermons.
Obviously, many within the churches refuse to fight for justice.
But preach be like Jesus when talking about fear.
Well, what about them?
Everyone cries about gun violence when a family's member's killed.
Well, what happen with those complaints?
When they was living.
Sep 4, 2016
Sep 4, 2016 at 9:40 PM UTC
i don't have a poem, but a plea.
hello poetry is an escape from real life for a lot of us, me included, but real life needs us right now.
the #blacklivesmatter movement is louder than ever and if you're not a person of color, or if you are but you also benefit from the system in place that depends on the destruction of black and brown people, now is your time to stand up.
stand with those at the protests, use your voice, your platform, your privilege to raise up your fellow black voices. and educate yourself on whats going on if you haven't already, because this is just the beginning.
this is global now. all over the world people in countries like UK, Germany, Canada, and many others are taking to the streets in a peaceful protest of the ****** of Georgoe Floyd, and so so many other Black men and women. a protest of the blatent police brutality in cities all over the world, brutality that mainly targets black skinned and brown skinned people. a protest for real honest ******* change, that will ripple through country to country.
this is a revolution. do not be silent.
go out and protest if you can. donate to the georgefloyd gofundme, to the bail outs for the protesters who were wrongfully arrested. spread awareness where you can. lift up black and other poc voices, and don't give up.
May 31, 2020
May 31, 2020 at 10:45 PM UTC
Shortness of breath
How fitting
As the socially deaf start in the bidding
Of a mind
Of a heart
And soul
Of a billion
See me in my frustration
See the color of my skin
How is the least of these
The most important of all?
I hear the anguish of breaking glass
Broken spirits
They call
Losing hope as a burning world
Scares me half to death
Empathize
Because who will you run to
When you’re the oppressed?
Silence in respect
Join me as I raise my fist
(Beat)
Hands up
I surrender
Tears fall, this may be it
Will I be missed?
USA
Born and raised
Living grenade
Shaken, beaten, and stirred
And when I explode
Anarchist?
Terrorist?
That’s absurd
I am a product of a machine
That grinds me into dust
You may be in the same gear
Don’t ignore it
Discuss
My brothers
My sisters
It is clear
Blood is red
How are we so divided
With the same thoughts in our heads?
Let scars remind of the pain
Wash the anger from your hands
Ceasefire, be at peace
Don’t make new cuts
Understand
Wrongs do not right
Our message must be clear
A crowd must scream in unison
For them to properly hear
Demand
And march on
Open eyes to the plea
Change must be made
Pick it up from it’s knees
Help me, help you
Help us
Who’s next?
Clearly see
We all slowly suffocate
When one of us cannot breathe
I can’t breathe...
#blacktuesday #PartOfAColoredPeople #icantbreathe2020 #BLM #BlackLivesMatter #peacefulprotest #MarchOn
Jun 4, 2020
Jun 4, 2020 at 2:59 PM UTC
do i not have the right to be outraged
to see that my people have once again been dehumanized
throw down on the grounds, beat up, killed
as if this is an everyday thing?
#blacklivesmatter until i die, because i know deep down that this world won't change and we'll still be holding up this sign a hundred years later
#handsupdontshoot might still be there too
you say have positive thinking but how can i when im too worried about my nephew being the next bLaCk kid shot down for having a toy gun?
because he's bLaCk
not white
because he lives in the hood
and not the suburbs
he has food stamps
not cash
tootie fruities
not fruit loops
he takes the bus
too broke to afford a car
yes, he works
but at mcdonalds
it's not good enough for them but they put us where we are
so how can you complain
when you're the cause of it all?
RIP
#MikeBrown
#TrayvonMartin
#PhilandoCastile
#TamirRice
#DeJuanGuillory
#JordanEdwards
#EricGarner
#SandraBland
#DontreHamilton
#QuaniceHayes
#FreddieGray
#EzellFord
#AkaiGurley
And to so many more.
Jul 10, 2017
Jul 10, 2017 at 3:14 PM UTC
This tango is like no other. it's naughty and nice and you can love twice. not at once, that is a foul but now.
You are here always and forever queer let's have fun with each and everyone but only a man or a woman, not another but don't tell your mother.
So sign this list and check it twice be you can never go back because you now know how to act this is true this is you.
I signed that contract not knowing that my life would change drastically this was who I was not but confusion got the best of me and it took the key and drove the car of my feelings.
Like a speed demon not caring for my well being but it was that coat that felt so good and warm in that cold hard bed made of guilt and regrets I dreaded the "oh it's just a phase jokes at my expense.
What if my little small circle got so big and full that it took my heart to be the mediator when I told the guys they seem to change and not for the better
Long visits became shorter
Voices became quieter
Games became more controlled
But I'm different now I can't cry myself a river to sail on with seas as vast as my anxiety.
I must prove myself every day to not become the next statistic not to become the next #blacklivesmatter tag I wanted to be the same and love whoever I wanted.
But now I can't the shows changed from normal men in a hat and jeans to be full of pink hair and painted nails and half shaved head and the reason it changed was that I changed my poems changed from being about how to hide your blackness to how to embrace your queer side and every day I felt like it was for the best when my soul felt it was for the worst how could being myself change the way my heart sway it the way of the tide.
But it was me so I took the hand of my lovers and it turned from the heterosexual waltz to the forbidden bisexual tango.
Sep 7, 2018
Sep 7, 2018 at 8:30 AM UTC
Hey, look at me my name is Corona.
Some people knew that I was coming in the march of 2019 itself and some even simulated how they will handle me when I come and funny story I came after 6 weeks of that simulation called "EVENT201".
Well, I can see that because of me all lot of people have touched heights to be hypocritic especially the world political leaders and health officials example " It is wrong when you protest against lockdown but it is important to protest in favor of Blacklivesmatter #BLM, one more example that the readers might relate to is that it is shown to us that I AM DANGEROUS that is the reason why all of the country's in the world were locked for 4 to 6 months, but wait there's is a catch because during election time when there are thousands of people gathering in the election rally than even the PM of India is proved to be a hypocrite or the dumbest PM of all time.
Well there are two possibilities:
1. If I exist then why all of you are allowed to gather whenever the government wants you to gather and beat the sit out of you when they don't?
2. If I don't THAN WHAT THE **** IS GOING ON???
Nov 18, 2020
Nov 18, 2020 at 12:58 PM UTC