Race Relations.

Equality is a falsified notion—that is now more clear than ever before
as race relations that were already tense have finally evolved into an all out war.
Black lives matter, they claimed, until nine more lives were lost,
still, we march on, as we shall overcome, regardless of the cost.

Our children are daily forced to pledge allegiance to one nation,
with dishonest promises of liberty and justice that only ever result in aggravation.
There is no justice for people of colour,
for we are denied the same privilege bestowed upon the others.

There are no in or out-groups, no us versus them,
in this system built on lies that needs to be condemned.
The civil rights movement now seems like it was all in vain,
as the blood of our brothers and sisters still stains the streets
and ends up circling the drain.

The emancipation proclamation may as well have remained unsigned,
with every step forward, we have fallen twice as many steps behind.
Today, I am filled with such voracious rage
that brings to mind images of the slaves that built these cities, only to be caged.

Speeches made by remarkable men like Malcolm X and Dr. King
have only been forgotten as the oppressed are still suffering.
I, too, have a dream that one day we will be judged by the content of our character
and not by the colour of our skin;
loved for what is within, and not just based on melanin.

This vicious cycle seems to have no end in sight,
only resulting in unanswered prayers and sleepless, tear-filled nights.
Is it any wonder why the people are angry and afraid,
desperate to take the law into their own hands for promises of reparations that were never paid?

Is there any question as to why protests erupt into full blown riots,
once reality sets in, it is impossible to remain quiet.
This American dream has proven to be a nightmare,
for the land of the free still refuses to play fair.

Laws are made then disobeyed whilst all the rules continue to be broken,
this flawed justice system was designed to keep us enslaved,
ensuring that the truth remains unspoken.
I, for one, will not be silenced until humanity is saved,
as I fight for innocent souls buried prematurely in unmarked graves.

I will not rest until there is only one human race,
instead of the trauma that comes with feeling alienated or displaced.
Education and acceptance are the only keys that can unlock these
hate filled gates of oppression, united we will stand again,
once we choose love and atone for our transgressions.

Herstory.

Baby girls barely old enough to walk are now being tempted to run, before they've even turned one.
Every day tells the same tired sex sells story, through magazine covers
and the media's attempt to make a woman feel as if she should be sorry.
Forced to apologize for her lack of feminine charms,
unless she has too much and becomes a target for masculine harm.
It cannot be unlearned once it's embedded in a child's tiny mind,
that beauty is all that matters, so one must never fall behind.

Plumpers and polishes, push-up bras and pearls
are just a sample of what is needed in order to be a real girl.
Despite all the advancements and steps taken in the fight for women's rights,
they are told it will all have been in vain without a man at home to warm her bed at night.
False standards and phony ideals result in eating disorders in the race for sex appeal.
Airbrushed models that are impossibly thin, lead so many teenage girls to strive for unattainable perfection.

As male counterparts are taught to hunt and provide,
women learn to cook and rear children but never how to survive.
Failed by a society that is sickly obsessed with looks,
no beauty pageant was ever won based on a contestant's love for books.
In developing nations, the birth of female progeny is considered a curse,
often leading to infanticide by parents ignorant to a woman's worth.
These same societies refuse to send their girls to school, afraid that knowledge is power that creates women that are impossible to control.

The wage gap in the west only succeeds to press the notion that men are truly best,
earning more on every dollar and often doing less.
Daughters of Eve are still being punished for her original sin,
kicked down more times than lifted up for having the misfortune of being born a woman.
Patriarchs and feudal lords alike always seem to forget,
the mothers who raised them that are now repaid with disrespect.
Misogyny has run rampant and is now an epidemic, the byproduct of years of oppression that has always been systemic.

History itself has focused on the victories of men,
even though there have been just as many triumphant, powerful women.
I pray for a world where gender roles cease to exist,
one in which discrimination between the sexes has been dismissed.
I still have hope that one day women are no strangers to equality
and are no longer victims of abuse or frivolity.
Female lives matter, a new generation of girls is on the rise, and they will not be silenced until the world has heard its cries.
What better time than now for mankind to realize
that the women we objectified for so long should only ever be prized.

Release.

More desperate than I have ever been before to be released,

this never-ending love has rotted in my heart leaving me sick and covered in disease.

My skin crawls as though it's infested with fleas;

my hair falls out in clumps and makes me drop, distraught, to my knees.

I beg to be free from the aching in my chest;

the constant cravings that were never answered have only left me bereft.

Lovesick now, but once I was so sick in this love,

that I confused it for blessings from the Heavens above.

My body feels pain that cancer could even cure;

the aftermath of our war is not worth the bliss we endured.

Every day arrives with new ways in which I feel sore,

that I am left wondering if my desire to carry on will ever be restored.

In retrospect, it's clear that we jumped the gun,

your words were the bullets that I never wanted to outrun.

The injustice of it all is that you have already healed,

your world is once again filled with wonder whilst mine has congealed.

Unable to ask for help since my pride refuses to allow it,

so I just grin and bear it, hoping my mind will soon disavow it.

Longing for a prayer, a cause, even a curse that will resolve this;

that my maker will soon hear my cries and illuminate my way through this darkness.

I search for a solution to the riddle in my bones, an answer to help me understand why my spirit moans.

Late at night, I still feel your presence like a phantom limb,

the kind that I lost long ago but just will not let me continue to live.

Insidious love, the kind I wish I had never known,

that has robbed me of my happiness and now haunts me in my very own home.

I sought out another to fill the void you left when we took our last breaths together,

but quickly learned that nobody else was capable of holding my hand through the stormy weather.

Forever never came but died as soon as it escaped our lips,

perhaps that was just the punishment for falling prey to this emotional eclipse.

I berate time for declining to heal the hurt in my hollow heart;

the cliche that it would heal all things has torn my sanity apart

from waiting.

I carefully studied the words of other jilted, dejected lovers,

looking for a recipe for my soul to finally recover.

The anguish is too much to bear, it's left me worst for wear,

unfair that you ensnared me then left me despaired and weary.

Even suicide could not destroy the hurt inside for it's my soul that needs a surgery,

a lesser man would have you tried for your lies and all your perjury.

I am still drowning in us, it fills me with self-contempt,

made a vow to myself to never be the victim of another's pathetic attempts.

I embark on this self-imposed exile from love or pleasures of the flesh,

as I reconnect with myself and prepare to start afresh.

I collect my dignity from its shelf, covered in dust from much neglect,

then promise to become reacquainted with forgotten self-respect.

Close up the sutures, treat all the wounds, 

conceal all these scars until there's not even a bruise.

Muster up all the courage inside me to regain my strength,

I know I will survive this, the finish line is finally within arm's length.