black lives matter protests for equity in the united states

rioters, violence in the streets, people terrified for their lives

we want peace, we want justice, we want equality. we receive:

violence, disgust and rage from those who refuse to understand

we kneel with our hands raised, masks on, voices loud.

you look at us and sneer, spittle flying and handcuffs ready

you arrest us for our opinion, the truth that we speak

you look at the seven percent of violence and riots instead

of the ninety-three percent of the peaceful protesting.

election day. there is no landslide, but there are absentees.

you are in the streets, we are terrified for our lives, and you,

you are angry that you will no longer have that power.

when we watch you repeat our history, we sit in silence, in awe.

when you are protesting to stop the counting of ballots,

we say that it hurts when no one wants to listen to you, right?

when you storm buildings without masks and full of rage,

we say that this looks familiar, but there are no rubber bullets.

when you scream at the top of your lungs to be heard,

we say that we did the same thing, but we were suffocated instead.

no matter how the election turns out, this is our country,

but you are ready to fight your fellow countrymen, aren't you?

no matter what happens in the future, we are all american.

when you threaten to take our rights away, we are beneath you.

no matter what we do to show you the double-standard,

you are blind to the truth, blind to your hypocrisy, to your privilege.

no matter if you walk in the footsteps of those before you,

remember that we protested to be heard. you answered with violence.

no matter your skin color, we are supposed to love you.

but if you happen to be white, we will love you more.

Dearest Words,

I would like to use a few of you to convey my utmost appreciation for what you do. You have not only given me solace in using you, but now in sharing you with others. You have allowed me to look into the depths of my being, little spaces in myself I was too afraid to venture (much less soak my feet in) and helped me find comfort in knowing there are also others wading around themselves in places theyʼd rather not be.

With your presence, we are able to communicate freely and unshackled. We are able to bring ideas into a solid form and express things that are nothing more than gas and light and chemical firings in our neurons sending signals to our brains. You give us with your form the freedom to express in such a way that others can relate. Things that cannot be seen under any other circumstance can be seen with you, can be felt with your assistance, and can be heard loud and clear and leave an imprint on those who choose to listen.

You do come with your downfall, Words, but I wouldnʼt dare ask you to change. With every letter that is written, a tiny piece of your creator is laid upon the page, giving you your immediate role as middleman between Writer and Reader. You are the pipeline, the conductor, the homing pigeon. And once you land, you can be transformed into anything Reader would like. Sometimes you're misunderstood, strewn, and can be morphed from Writer into an entirely new entity with Reader.

But Words, I ask that you listen closely when I say that this is part of your magnificence. The beauty of you is your ability to plant and grow inside all that will consume you, and while you are essentially nothing but a mark on a blank piece of paper, your concept and impact reaches far beyond your physicality.

So Words, please – stay as you are. Let us continue living through you, painting your picture uniquely with every new eye scrolling over you. Continue to send and receive and allow us to love, abide with, hate, and abuse you.

With all my love,

(AmandaCary)

So you're a Republican. Or a Democrat? Or a Blood or Crip? No, wait, you're a 33rd degree Mason? That had better to be on your resume.

So you're a jock, right? Not a nerd or prep or freak, to be exact? If not then what the fuck are you. Emphasis on the period in place of question mark.

Enough subtle sarcasm.

If you feel the need to identify with a political party instead of simply explaining your beliefs, principles, and reasoning plainly, then you're a slave to the modern political game.

And the only way to win it is to break its rules.

...break them for good...

You handed me your heart and

I don't exactly know what to do with it.

It's quite a new thing.

I'd turn it in my hands

and feel the cracks and bumps.

In some places smooth and soft.

In others rough and dry.

I don't know why you gave it to me.

It had something to do with love.

You gave me this gift without even asking.

I know I didn't ask for it,

But I took it anyway.

I don't know why.

It had something to do with love.

All I want is to leave it

Far off, hide it in a room and

Never look back.

I know I can't, for I am ruined.

It had something to do with love.

I carry it with me and

I take it out sometimes and try to feel.

I'll feel a twinge every now and then.

Coming out of it.

Out of me.

Then it goes away.

I don't like to think about it.

I can't even remember it now,

It had something to do with love.

They socialize to meet

In their zone

Just to spend

Their sweet time on their phone.

#iamfa

A dab of gray

A brush of white

A faint flicker of yellow

To set it right

A guiding light,

Set in gold,

Bringing tales

From places old

A dab of gray

A brush of white

A slash of red

To bleed out your life

A scarring wound,

Set in red

A beautiful color,

Fit for the dead.

I made note of my run

Marked it in the leftmost lane

Speedy Gonzales Saturday mornings

with the radio on

Drown out my panic

and the caricature of my self-loathing

with a schedule

Song, speech, song

Forgetting the nostalgic

high pitch sounds of

getting anywhere

too quickly to measure accurately

I'm already halfway there

My destination highlighted

On the map in my dad's old truck

tucked in the pocket behind the seat

curled gently and careworn

I know this route

It has your name on it

and I'll be there soon

you just got there in a hurry

Fast as lightning

When the stars exploded and planets were formed,

When galaxies clustered and solar systems were born,

When the Sun ignited and Earth cooled down,

When the Moon connected and circled around,

A beautiful blue world with a day and a night,

Flourished and blossomed and sparkled with life,

And who'd have thought that this magical place,

Would start killing their own based on species or race,

That they'd segregate sexes and break apart kin,

And label and hate based on colour or skin,

That this unique little rock with its seas and its land,

Would allow hatred to poison and wars to command?

And let's now just stop.

And consider our fate.

If we continue to crumble,

And to separate...

When you live on an island the size of a pea,

With psychos like Putin just over the sea,

Unite with your neighbours and give them a key,

Share, protect, connect and be free.

When you look to the sky and the twinkling stars,

Up to Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and Mars,

Put your arms around love and vow prejudice gone,

My brothers and sisters, we are all just one.