-nother Poem

-nother

-nother black man took the blame

-nother black life down the drain

-nother white man goes scot free

Because it’s long since gone that “a”

It’s not a black man

It’s another

It’s not a hateful crime

It’s another

And another

And another

And ANOTHER

Peace didn’t work

Taking a knee didn’t work

Wasn’t convenient for their rhetoric

Bad for ratings

Worse for Murica

So now we’ve arrived at violence

And some people act surprised…

I’m not.

I’m sad

I’m worried

I’m disappointed

I’m scared

But not surprised

Destination violence

Please stand clear of the closing doors

Because although people insist on being ignorant

Violence is an easy thing to understand.

A language too many fools are fluent in.

But that’s where we’re at

Because if you use other means and aren’t understood

Because if you use other means and aren’t even listened

Then what else can you expect.

Whether it’s a knee or a noose

Another black man makes the news

Dead and dying

While communities are crying.

Remember the –nother brothers and sisters

The black, yellow, red, and brown

The statistics that matter less to some

Because all some people see are numbers

While all we see are names.

George, Ahmaud, Breonna, Trayvon…

How many more names?

How many less lives?

How many have we forgotten in the multitude?

How many blind eyes can people turn?

Before we accept the problem

Face the facts

And say it in black and white

Black with white

White with black

And everything around…

We are far from great

We are broken

But we can mend and heal

If we stop being blind

And see the problem for what it’s always been.

Black vs. white

White vs. black

Human vs. human

We can dream of peace,

But if nothing is ever done

Then violence is what we’ll live.