OUT FRONT

_________

I am grateful for...

The arched roof above my head

The twin rafters with 

The twin lights, holding it in place

The four walls surrounding me

The two windows with

The two Venetian blinds, down & shut at all times

The red brick floor below my feet

The wooden shelves full of books & movies

The VHS by themselves & DVDs in clear totes

Th...

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SAMARITAN

__________

Anyone else

Would've left that Far Right

Reactionary sprawled on the concrete

To bleed out, suffer in his

Paroxysms of serious hurt, receive

Disaster of the steel-toed kind.

But not you.

The Good Samaritan

Reflex kicked in,

Wouldn't let you

Abandon someone in need of help.

Distinctions such as

"Friend" and "foe" did...

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A small ripple in the ocean of change,

From the tears that flooded the planet with our pain. 

As the world stood in unity for months to protest,

We anxiously waited today for the guilty verdict to mark progress. 

Though white supremacy still continues to plague us with sorrows, 

So we must fight on and seek justice for tomorrow.

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From being alive to reduced to a few characters, 

A whole life condensed into a hashtag.

What is happening isn’t brutality but massacres,

By those who proudly serve the American flag. 

Colin Kaepernick took the knee for us, 

But George Floyd bear the weight of it.

He suffocated under 400 years of prejudices, 

But they’ll never understand. 

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Elijah was walking back with iced tea he got from the store, 

But he “looked sketchy” so the police arrested him and threw him to the floor. 

They placed him in a carotid hold until he could not breathe anymore, 

Which led to his heart attack and he later died from all the suffering he endured.

So we played violins for him hoping he would play with us from heaven.  

Except it...

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The rainbow that coloured the nations heart, 

The sole stroke triggering Black Lives Matter to start.

Forged to dismantle the despotic system,

By using peaceful protests forcing the government to listen. 

So they marched together to stand up against institutionalised hate,

Because at 17 years young it was too early to see heaven’s gates.

As he walked home with a bag of skitt...

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The Black voice is electrifying.

Bringing forth worlds never imagined,

From dominions in Africa to mystical spheres unheard of.

Telling tales of majestic beings, kings, queens and the simple Black girl next door.

The Black voice. Telling Black stories.

We need Black literature because it shows

That our stories matter.

That our histories are worth sharing.

Tha...

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Criticized, Plagiarized, Ostracized, … Still, we are Here!

Survivors, Overcomers, … Strength to Persevere!

But we’ll settle with Equality, Transparency and a system that’s Fair!

No More… No longer... We won’t accept despair!

We’re not playing games, and we have no more fear!

We’ll March... We’ll Riot... and We’ll tear down your town’s square!

Black Lives Matter!

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Hands up

On your knees 

It’s not an instruction 

It’s a threat

Because your skin

Your hands 

Your hoodie 

Are a weapon 

So you drop

You drop like Trayvon’s skittles 

You drop like Tamir’s BB pellets

You drop like Michael’s cigars 

Or you drop dead. 

Each breath could be your last

Breathe breathe breathe 

I can’t breathe

Please, please, I can’t breath...

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Clang!

Across the centuries

A clanging sound

The clang of a statue

As it falls to the ground

The clang of ideology

Toppling from its perch

The clang of the chains

And the swish of the birch

The clang of a bell

Ringing across the land

The clang of the people

As they make a stand

The clang of oppression

And the clang of the strange

And the clang...

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Calling onto the masses
Whom no amount of classes
Would open their eyes
To the hate and despise
That people of colour receive
And how their hearts grieve
To the endless blood shed
And countless bodies dead
To years of uncalled for attacks
And merciless whacks
To all the foolish, never forget
That you are in great debt
To all the souls you have scarred
And dead bodies you disregard
An...

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TRIGGER WARNING: contains profanity and quoted use of racist language

What Have You Got?

What have you got

When you haven’t got a tweet

That will work on the masses

And keep them off the street

When your corrupt policies

Are all laid bare

And the people are as unruly

As your fake blonde hair

What have you got

When it all goes South

In pillow case ...

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Kneel

I saw a young man kneel today

He hung his head as if to pray

But he would take a life away

To honour and protect they say

Another black man has to die

Before the country questions why

They let enforcers kill and lie

and let another mother cry

Fear and hate mix with malice

A city faces the abyss

A cocktail of vinegar and piss

On the streets o...

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Deep is the dampness settling upon my brown skin.

A layered onion would not succumb to its 

seduction.

An Oregon rain is persistent, precipitated by

a scowl of dirty clouds, a Creole-colored frown,

its sound preceding as if pitter-pattering feet running

free like caribou on an open plain.

Nothing tastes better than Jovino's Pinot Gris,

recommended by Emily, a wine...

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Come down from among the Clouds

Come down from among the clouds and seat yourselves.

I will set plates for y'all. There will be no wooden flatware,

no metal cups, certainly no raggedy napkins. The ceramic

made in China, flatware in the USA, tempered glass in 

Argentina, and napkins cut and sewn by a little old colored

lady in Little Rock, Arkansas, while her great granddaughter

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