poem by alicia plummer
art by raviya
Rage.
Is what we face.
Daily.
But you bring us down, because you think it’s okay, and that we’re crazy.
Gaslight like it’s alright to preach what you’re teaching.
You’re not a preacher, so I’ll tell you what you’re doing, you’re reaching.
Now please reach into your wallet and donate to stop the hating,
Instead of saying awful words and feel glamorous from all the change you’re making –
That’s faking.
That’s not living in the reality of a movement.
That’s choosing
To live in a life where you keep us losing
That’s broken.
That’s the way society was made.
The system is corrupt with this idea of BIPOC incapable of playing the game
But being capable of being played,
That’s lame.
People don’t speak out because of stress, we say less, and get told to “speak” and if we don’t, then “talk is cheap” and the phrase, “how can we improve if we don’t know?” pops up,
but when I do say something, it’s “Well why didn’t you speak up long ago?”
So what’s the answer?
To speak, or to hold back, either way
The upper hand lays with the oppressor.
I focus on seeing brighter days
Because this life can seem so loud
But when I shout,
Words seem to get lost in the crowd
“She’s doing this for clout”,
Some people assume without a doubt –
I just want white folks to learn from the words that they speak so proudly about.
Microaggressions, watering into systemic racism and then a destroyed society sprouts.
Even with my doubts, I try to find a way out. And I hold my people with me, does it get easy? Never. But we can get busy.
Spreading the word of what makes a difference. Uplifting our citizens.
Refusing to let the hate win even after it has settled in. Because we are never settling. Never deciding that change is a battle we cannot overcome. I stand for those who refuse to run. I stand, because we will never be done. I stand, like the sun we rise again. Only shining brighter and refusing to be ignored.
