Today I was reminded again that while I try to practice love...
Some only feel hate
Today I saw the insides
Insides of people I call friends
Today I learned that while I am called friend
My friends cannot love me
Or my color
Or my skin
Today I learned that hate is colorblind
But that the colorblind
Can still see the color
White
Today I felt the racial divide
And I was still so surprised
That the blood of colored folk
Is cheap
Today I learned that some
Are blind
They will deny
The truth of their eyes
It is easier
To dehumanize
And blame
A victim
For their own execution
Today I heard an argument
That exhausts my soul
Today I was told
Of the difficulty of a cop's job
I was reminded that
They risk their lives
Everyday
And they would not listen
That it's a fact
I do not deny,
Never have, in fact
A cop is brave
A cop risks all
A cop's life is of value
I honor them
Their life is of value
And so is the life
Of a brother
Who too was slain,
But yet again
The same refrain
"He should have listened...
Should have done as he was told"
And even as they speak
They do not listen
To the pain
Of my brother
To my pain
And today I wondered
When it was thrown in my face
"Do you realize how dangerous it is to be a cop?"
And I asked
"Do you realize how dangerous it is to be black, or brown?"
Being a cop is a choice, you see
It is chosen knowing well the risk it entails...
You are trained
You are paid
To be a cop
You choose it and are under oath to serve and protect
All
Black and brown as well as white
Do you realize how dangerous it is to be colored?
To be in my skin?
It is my skin
The one I was born in
And I am enslaved
And hunted and discriminated against
And I'm damned if I don't
And damned if I do
Because of the color of my skin
But they would not hear me...
I wept for my brother and for another human brother- a true cop, a protector
But they could not even weep for me
Or for my brother
Only for those
They chose
And yet
My brother they never chose
Today I wonder...
How can you call me friend
If you do not see me
And my skin
It is my skin
The one
I was born in
You say you do not see color
The color of skin
Claim that you are colorblind
And yet you see white
And you see blue
Selectively colorblind...
Is what that is
Today I wonder...
How can you call me friend
If you cannot feel my pain
Or my outrage
If I am disenfranchised from my grief
Because you claim
Yours deserves more fame
Today I wonder...
How can you claim
I am as free and equal
When you laugh and blame
When those of color like me are slain
And the only pain you feel is for you
And you challenge
Even my right to mourn
My fallen brother
As well as the cop
Who is fallen
And whom I honor and mourn
Equally
I only question the cop
As is my right to question
The cop-
Who should always be
Only my brother's defender
And not the one at whose hands
My brother is slain
Today I wonder
If I can feel for both
Equally
And mourn both
Equally
Then why is it impossible
For you
To do the same
Why are you
Unable to mourn
Equally
For me
And my color
And my skin
The one that I was born in
It is the only one I have
It is mine
To live in
Everyday
And since
My friend
You cannot
See me
Or my color
Or my skin
Today I honor
Myself
I honor my
Skin
And that of my brother
Today I write for that purpose
Today
I honor
The truth
That I am not
Colorblind
Today I honor
The truth
That this is my skin
And it may hold no value
For you
But that minor detail
Can never
Devalue
My color
My honor
My skin
The one
I was born in
