There's a pain
A nuisance
A tricky cut
A thorn in finger
A sharp blade that we hold onto
Tightly in the palm of our hands
Clenched to keep the blood from running
It is not a proud struggle
Though it has made us strong
A strength we can take pride in
But the struggle is not one to appreciate
It was forced on us
The lot we did not choose
They were blessed with choices
And they chose to never break stride
Never told they had to carry a lot
We watched them never look back
Never weigh freedom
Never stop for a moment
To be empathetic
Or equals
And here we are still trying to numb the pain
It don’t just hurt but it haunts
Bloody reminders
And most days we can’t breathe
Short on deep breaths
Too off balance
Too many bodies on our shoulders
To find our center
We have no room for peace
Not even prayer rooms are safe
We cannot forgive
Patience does not exist
Tolerance can not be tolerated
We don't have any more passes to give
We’ve exhausted mercy
And their actions know not grace
Look us in our face
And act out
Sharp and dangerous
Reminiscent of the blade
And we bleed out
We black out
We black out
We snap
Snap into two
Too much blood loss to make sense of anything
Or to take it easy
Or lower our voices
Or keep calm
Forget calm
We lose it
Their lives perpetuate our troubles
Their lies perpetuate our troubles
Their existence
Their entitlement
Their inheritance
Their “better qualified”
Their “potential”
Their “bright future”
Their “benefit of the doubt”
Their nerve
Our nerves
Our pain
Our nuisance
Our thorn
If only we could live burden free
If only we could live free
If only we didn't know the edge of this blade
If only living weren't so sensitive
If only everything wasn't means to take offense
If only everything wasn't so offensive
But who cares about us
Who cares but us
Who tends to an old wound that never heals
We don't even care at times
Time has yet to care
Has killed more of us than it has healed
Even time is a construct of oppression
At times we don’t even feel it
But this blade is ours to feel
It continues to cut deep
We only know how to take it
They only know how to look passed it
They move passed it
We can’t get passed it
Damned if we hold on
Damned if we let it go
Damned if we let them see us bleed
Damned if we don’t
Damned if they think our blood is free