Original poem by Angela Scott
This poem is in response to the shootings in Ferguson, Fruitvale, Florida and all around the nation where police are snuffing out brown and black lives that matter.
I wasn’t therebut I could feel each bulletscarring tissueeach fist bruising and breaking skintearing through bone and marrowstopping beats and pulsestaking life after life
I wasn’t therebut I could see him raising his hands in surrenderhands cuffed behind his backholding candy and a drinkmind of a small childrunning away for his lifeheads bowed and kneelinglaying on the curb, on belliesthis child, this manhoping that this cop, with this gunwould not fear himwith no gun, armed only with the color of skinand yes apparently this is a deadly weapon
i wasn’t therebut i know why they did not bother to cover the still bodies that layslain in the streetwhile their hands are forever bloodied this is nothing newthese cruel intentionsnot even bothering to cover upsomething so shamefulso we will do what you wantand not forget
i wasnt therebut i could feel the warmthof those banning togetherholding faststaying strongrising up against something so wrongsomething thats gone on too longsomething that can no longer be justifiedsomething that can no longer be quieted downwhen something like 108 black men and boyswere gunned down by police in the month of august alone
i wasnt there for that but i hope you can feel my disgusti hope you can feel my angerwhen i hear you deny that there is infact a problembut white boys or white men are not dying in similar fashionbut black men and brown boys arei hope you can at least feel what we have felt even though some might be on the other side of the color lineand even those on this sidewho wait for the quiet and the stillnessthat come afterafter the media has leftand after the crowds disburseand the tension loosensand after when you turn on the television and are not reminded, constantlyi assure you it will not changehow long must we wait to be surprised when this happens again?when we hear of another town in another statewhere another childwith hands up head downknees bowedcolored face is murderedwhile we pretend to be madwithout actioncontradicting everything We should all be upsetWein all shadesi wasn’t there, but i am here now
#BlackAndBrownLivesMatter