I CAN'T BREATHE

Listen, listen,

Hear the very words that start the spiral,

Revolutionary in its descent,

Wholly demanding yet reformative in its poise.

You dare ask me what right I have to speak?

Aren’t we equal, you and I?

Do I not breathe the same air?

Do I not draw life from the very same earth? 

You wish to control me,

But I will not be silenced.

You wish to tame me,

But I will not be afraid.

Listen to the cries of my ancestors

Whose blood you spilled;

Whose tears you water your travesties with

Whose lives you’ve abridged.

We stand with our fists held high,

And kneel with our hearts;

We take no remorse

In doing what’s right.

Let our voices be heard,

Let the anguish we’ve felt rage on

As we march against you, our oppressors,

As we take back what is ours.

We represent the truth

Your biased justice conceals.

We stand to break these chains, and shackles 

You’ve placed on our destinies.

No more, no more I say.

This ends now, you’ve done your worst

With your hate, oppression, and batter;

But now we tell you BLACK LIVES MATTER.