"philando" poems
Yea of course,
I,
me,
a woman,
a black woman
a darker black woman to be exact..
have black privilege because thats a thing you know
Its like when I walk into the store and get followed .. yea
or that time i came back to school with my “extensions” and was told my hair grows fast
or maybe its when a white person comes up to me asking if i listen to 21 savage because “black people listen to rap right?”
or my favorite is telling my brother to be safe
as he heads out the door worrying he may be shot for reaching for his wallet
maybe its when i worry about whether or not my brother or cousins or father will be the next Trayvon martin or Eric garner or philando castille even
my black privilege
has allowed me to be labeled as loud and ratchet and sometimes a ***
because that what dark skin black girls are
right ..
yea ….
thats black privilege
its getting told I'm pretty for a black girl
its being told I'm intimidating and mean and ugly natured
but no no i swear its not cause your black
I love black people I'm not racist
Slavery happened years ago
Black people are racist too
im not racist i just don't like black people
yea … I've heard it all.
No !
im not just another “angry black girl”
Im just a black girl
Im not mad don't get me wrong
I just wanted to inform you on my black privilege
I wanted to inform you that it is NOT okay to touch my hair
that is NOT okay to say to mock “black slang”
It is not okay to say “are you speaking english” when i talk
It is not okay to put my people through hundreds of years of slavery and oppression and systemic racism and TELL US TO GET OVER IT!
Im sorry excuse my tone of voice
but can you blame me for getting worked up when I have to worry about whether or not my people will come home at night
yea …
thats MY black privilege
Jul 1, 2018
Jul 1, 2018 at 12:23 AM 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The noose has been replaced by a shiny black casing, The broken neck has been replaced by blood freely flowing The tree has been used to make OUR encasing....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
A baby learning to walk. an old man fails to.
you haven't been touched in a week aside from a man who likes your socks and shoelaces offering you an elbow cause you have a chicken sandwich in your hands.
Shorts so small you can see the pockets. Red hair. Walking past fossils cause you're looking at your phone.
Why did you go in the "insect zoo" Mike? You ****** hate spiders.
your most human interaction is the man who asks if he can use your leftover donut bag to carry his food. The food he got from the soup kitchen across the street. The one you went to to use the bathroom. Borrowing him privilege in bag form.
he doesn't like to eat outside. Too many mosquitoes. He babywalks with a cane.
The gun that shot Lincoln is tiny and I am interested in it only for it's death potential.
A French family crying, don't have the right papers to get into the White house tour. I wish I could tell them the tour wasn't that good.
drunk conversation with brother about father.
don't talk to. Don't know how. Don't want to.
I am swallowed by the heat
The silence that passes for conversation.
my mother is very conservative. the strain of hiding myself. Closed lips
I am a silent eavesdropper. A parent pays 7.50 for a ****** tourist piece of pizza. Placed in front of her child. Exhaustion drips off her face. Oozes out of her posture. Her kid doesn't like the pizza. Mouth a tight line. The child tells a story. The tight line blooms into laughter.
My friend (I wonder about kissing her) goes to a Philando Castile memorial. I go to the lincoln memorial. Pictures and profit. It's smaller than I thought while she’s heavy from the impact.
Memorial – pictures – walking – repeat – heat – feet – and the wondering of how much memorializing goes on at giant statues.
His fedora looks stupid. small kids bumps into me. child-style. I don't see him cause I'm so tall. His mother tells him to watch where he's going.
My dad’s not on the trip. Divorce’ll do that to you. My brother calls him a lost soul
The trip was good and I would never go again.
Feb 23, 2018
Feb 23, 2018 at 11:37 AM UTC
i kissed my wife goodbye tonight
held my kids
and hugged them tight
my shift is more than nine to five
i'm blessed to punch the clock alive
to protect and serve
is what i do
my badge it shines
my heart bleeds blue
amongst the angered proclamations
i remain cautious to each situation
you see there's guys like me
here for the passion
then there's those who seek
authoritative access
intentions to hurt with permission to ****
to harass innocent people
detained against their will
i do not condone what those men allow
but when people see me
they see them
and i'm one of them now
we all look alike
same routine daily procedures
but i didn't want Alton or Philando
to be shot dead either
i am trained to protect, prevent, and to trust in the truth
not bully
not harrass
not execute
he does not represent me
just as the devil does represent you
i am sick in the soul
what do i do?
it was once white against black
now it's black against blue
but can't you see most of us
want peace and justice too?
let's get the bad guys out of here
send them to hell where they belong
show the world we can stand as one
while our voice remains strong
but you killed me before i could help make it right
but you killed me before we could join hands in the fight
but you stole me from my family like a thief in the night
but all you saw was the darkness as i was pushing for light
a **** for a ****
this is a battlefield shroud
as my kids wake from bad dreams
screaming out loud
the sobs from my wife drowns out the sounds
who declared this the answer to equality?
HOW?
Jul 17, 2016
Jul 17, 2016 at 3:28 PM UTC
This is a verse for George
This is a poem for Philando
This is a memory of Oscar
Continuing the fight for Malcolm
Venerating the wisdom of Martin
This is a call to action
Even if just a fraction
Causes this cause to gain traction
For people tired of the inaction
The people have spoken
And decades have passed
Nothing has changed
Protesters still getting gassed
With years behind them
Trying to stay quiet
One ******
Two murders
A thousand
It's no surprise
That this protest is now a riot
Flames flitting in and out of frame
Guns glinting
as bootlickers offer more of the same
Tin badges holding themselves
As above the rest of us
I scream in disgust
What gives you the right
To ****** my neighbors?
What gives you the right
To brutalize my friends?
These fires ignite a memory
And makes me sing
Noting the similarity
To Martin,
and also Rodney king
I'll stop now
My angry rambling
I'll leave you with a quote
Most would think
It was said by Malcolm
But it was said by Dr. King
It's not absurd
He said it
"A riot is the language of the unheard"
That is the wisdom of Martin
That's why we continue to fight for Malcolm
That's why I remember Oscar
I wrote this poem for Philando
I wrote this verse for George
May 31, 2020
May 31, 2020 at 10:24 AM UTC
there is a god dying in America
somewhere over the **** ivy leaves
encapsulating whole monument walls
where i have not seen sense in years
and i can smell-feel-taste the god dying in
this paralyzed America.
he stood six feet tall
unassuming hair and a soft puerile face
where leaving thought on skin made sense and
where we could see him fully and foolishly.
he stood with angel wings and vexed spirits
floating above the carapace of the earth
dare not touch what is not his to touch.
he could make and marry and sell America
but instead took a powerless position
with a headache mind
and decided to stay along with vagabond america.
and we used to think america was godless
but no it's worse; it has a God who has
decided against taking the government's side
meaning; all of your philando castilles and
michael browns will come back to shame America.
Jun 8, 2017
Jun 8, 2017 at 10:57 AM UTC
i couldn’t tell you the number of times they’ve told me
my family of seven
numbers only five.
i couldn’t tell you the number of times they’ve told me,
“they’re NOT YOUR BROTHERS.
lydia is your sister, but they’re BLACK.
they can’t be part of your family,”
though all three are adopted.
i couldn’t tell you the number of times they’ve looked
at my family as if it is BROKEN,
believing there’s NO WAY
those two little boys with DARK skin
belong in that family with WHITE skin, brown hair, and blue eyes,
the perfect depiction of a german family.
this is my REALITY.
it TERRIFIES me,
watching them look
watching them
see
nothing
but
the
skin
that
is
darker
than
their
own.
no one ever questions that my little sister
with her FAIR skin is my sister,
but when they see my brothers,
they don’t understand how we’re related.
in what world do we live
that this PREJUDICE is allowed?
in what world do we live
that JUDGING people simply by their color is acceptable?
they say that it isn’t,
that they don’t do it,
that they know black people—are even friends with a few—
so there’s no way that they’re RACIST.
and
yet,
it
happens
every
day.
we see it on the news all too frequently
but brush it off as insignificant,
somebody else’s problem.
PHILANDO CASTILE.
TARIKA WILSON.
LAQUAN MCDONALD.
REKIA BOYD.
OSCAR GRANT.
AIYANA JONES.
ORLANDO BARLOW.
SEAN BELL.
MICHAEL BROWN.
YVETTE SMITH.
BOTHAM JEAN.
ERIC GARNER.
TAMIR RICE.
GEORGE FLOYD.
maybe you recognize these names.
these names are only a fraction of UNARMED african americans—
men, women, even children—
KILLED because police FEARED
the COLOR of their skin.
how can we allow this to happen?
they excuse racism, claiming it ceased long ago,
saying that because there are laws against segregation,
that because those laws were enacted,
people automatically follow them.
then
WHY
do
you
know
these
names?
i hope to one day live in a world
where I don’t have to fear for my brothers’ lives as they grow older.
a world where I know
they won’t have to fight RACISM and PREJUDICES while following their dreams.
i hope to one day live in a world
where we see more than just the color of someone’s skin.
a world where we can learn to ACCEPT and LOVE,
appreciating diversity.
i hope to one day live in a world
where my family is seen as just that,
a FAMILY. a WHOLE, LOVING FAMILY
regardless of the color of my brothers’ skin.
Feb 25, 2021
Feb 25, 2021 at 11:15 AM UTC
Did George Floyd’s life matter?
Did Breonna Taylor’s life matter?
Did Ahmaud Arbery’s life matter?
Did Eric Garner’s life matter?
Did Trayvon Martin’s life matter?
Did Mike Brown’s life matter?
Did Tamir Rice’s life matter?
Did Keith Childress’ life matter?
Did Bettie Jones’ life matter?
Did Philando Castille’s life matter?
Did Michael Noel’s life matter?
Did Jamar Clark’s life matter?
Did Michael Lee Marshall’s life matter?
Did Dominic Hutchinson’s life matter?
Did Junior Prosper’s life matter?
Did Keith McLeod’s life matter?
Did India Kager’s life matter?
Did Felix Kumi’s life matter?
Did Samuel Dubose’s life matter?
Did Darrius Stewart’s life matter?
Did Sandra Bland’s life matter?
Did George Mann’s life matter?
Did Jonathan Sander’s life matter?
Did Victor Laros’s life matter?
Did Spencer McCain’s life matter?
Did Jermaine Benjamin’s life matter?
Did Kris Jackson life matter?
Did Kevin Higgenbotham’s life matter?
Did Amadou Diallo’s life matter?
Did Oscar Grant’s life matter?
Did Calvon Reid’s life matter?
Did William Chapman’s life matter?
Did Walter Scott’s life matter?
All black / All unarmed / All murdered by US Police
Did Dylan Roof’s life matter?
Did Peter Manfredonia’s life matter?
Did Anthony Trifiletti’s life matter?
Did Patrick Crusius’ life matter?
Did James Holmes’ life matter?
All white / All murderers / All arrested peacefully by US Police
Unarmed blacks
Killed by US Police
5x unarmed whites
Black men and boys
Killed by US Police
2.5x white men and boys
This is why we kneel
This is why we march
This is why we protest
This is why we are mad as hell
This is why we are fed-up as well
This is why we riot
Riot is the language of voices unheard
When you respond
“All Lives Matter”
To our “Black Lives Matter”
You’re not listening
You didn’t hear
You don’t care
GTFOH
~ P
Jun 1, 2020
Jun 1, 2020 at 3:38 AM UTC