I Can't Breathe...a protest poem

The images I see have shaken me to the core. We repeat and repeat and repeat. Voices go unheard and so many lives lost in vain. I can only protest the way I know how...by writing.

I can't breathe...

I can’t breathe as well, I hate what I see,

Images so brutal, I am reminded of a knee,

Pressing the neck, represents what is real,

Brothers and sisters, it is how I feel.

As life was leaving, no mercy was shown,

Only images remain, taken by phone,

Plead he did, but not to be heard,

‘I can’t breathe’ he said, then...not a word.

It has angered us all, to see with our eyes,

Happened too much, it is no surprise,

That too many blacks, suffered this fate,

Numbers don’t lie, it is a high rate.

All lives matter, but let’s be real,

Black lives suffer, so how do we heal?

Using of force, that just hurts much more,

It should not be about, evening the score.

Emotions engulf us, angered and sad,

We can’t help but feel, fed up and mad,

Protest we must, however we stand,

Embrace each other, do it hand in hand.

How to move forward, the question to ask,

The ugliness we see, is behind the mask,

Move forward with heart, needed the most,

Not just from here, but from coast to coast.

Listen to those, who suffer in vain,

United together, we have so much to gain,

Put privilege aside, understand their plights,

We are human you see, having basic rights.

Put the batons aside, and listen with care,

All that is asked, is for the things to be fair,

In a world that is hurt, we need a strong voice,

In the future perhaps, we will rejoice.

We are better than this, but we need to now,

Stand shoulder to shoulder, it is the only way how,

With his last breath he gave, in agony and pain,

A storm has emerged, it won’t be in vain.