Black Lives Matter Poem by Caroline Adebayo

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Day and night, they went out in their numbers
Solidarity chant, mourning one of their own
‘Black life matter' ‘Black life matter' they chanted
Wishing to not only be seen but also heard
Another police brutality in broad day light
"I can't breathe" he said yet the policeman knee was on his neck
He died like a chicken without committing a crime
A senseless death that could have been avoided
Leaving children fatherless and families change for ever
What is wrong in being black?
Why does our skin colour has to make a difference?
We are judge from a distance even before we open our mouth to speak
Our every steps and actions are being watched
Like a hawk we need not make mistakes
Blacks go under immense scrutiny and pressure as a baby turtle
Swimming towards the ocean
Navigating and dodging every predator imaginable
Black life matter and so does every life
Heavy burdens weigh on our mind
With each killing comes a renewed fear
What will become of our sons and daughters?
They are born free yet trapped by their colour
With limited opportunities unlike their white skin contemporaries
They each have to struggle to get to the top with the bars shifting at each turning point
Blacks are resilience, beautiful and hospitable
We do not need validation
I am black and unapologetically proud
We will continue our fight for our civil liberty
One day, we will truly be liberated from being looked upon as a
second Class Citizen

Caroline Adebayo