Slain.

Let freedom ring, it reigns supreme.
Liberty's bell solely tolls for thee.
Red, white, and blue but only for you.
For me, red is the blood of my brothers and sisters you've murdered.
White, the ticket of privilege that buys you luxuries my melanin can't afford.
And blue? Blue is the police force that engages in brutality.
Its sole criteria for ending a life is colour.
I pray for the day there is no news of injustice.
No headlines about rapists who are freed whilst teachers are wrongfully killed.
Mama, when can we stop digging graves?
Help me understand when we stop being slaves.
Will we ever be saved?

There seems to be no end in sight to this crusade.

Is it reckless, are the riots in vain?

All that ever changes are the names of the innocents slain.

Dreaming.

I have a dream that our fight for civil rights will not end in sleepless nights,
a fantasy that we can live in harmony with equality
acting as the bridge that connects you and me.
I dream of unity between man, woman and beast instead of
the hatred that manifests as violence erupting in the streets and under the sheets.
My reverie has been interrupted by the greed
that oppresses and hides in deceit filled fleets.
One ship prepared for battle and another for war,
as our chests heave with anger
until we have all become casualties of the rich,
though we remain poor.
This eye for an eye ideology has made the world blind,
forgiveness unheard of in a world where love has been left behind.
I had a dream that justice was real, that our hearts would stay open,
instead our blood has congealed.
Humanity, the only race, instead of
socially constructed labels we were assigned to keep us in our right place.
I have a dream one day man will be judged not by the colour of his skin
but by the content of his character;
loved for what was within and not just based on melanin.
I still believe in my dream, we have not fallen so far from grace that we cannot be saved.
My dream may one day still be a reality,
to lose faith in love would be like succumbing to insanity.
I have a dream thanks to a King who was dethroned by bigotry,
but whose legacy has paved the way for a boy like me to dare to even dream.