Pressure on the Neck

Pressure on the neck,

protests in the streets,

people standing up,

people shouting down,

rest cannot be found

when the system pulls the trigger

then asks you to be bigger.

—

Peace will not abound when cries of pain meet tears of gas,

when civil demands for life meet rubber bullets and batons,

when a jog on the block ends your clock,

when bedtime becomes a date with death,

when the crowd watches your killing

because your darker hue is the cue

to dismiss your humanity.

—

It is time to kill the indifference that permits racism and brutality alongside monumental statements of freedom and justice for all.

It is time to slay the lies

that my life is lesser

that my skin is tougher

that my heart should suffer

that my mind is broken

that my kind is other

that I’m not your brother.

Learn more here — “We Must Fight Face Surveillance to Protect Black Lives”