Racism

The history of humankind is

Stained by the blood of innocents

Enslavement, racial cleansing, hatred and despair

Humans reduced to less than animals

Racism.

Fear is ever-present

Fear is deadly

Fear of those who are different

Has killed thousands.

Sounds fill the air

Sounds of mothers screaming from children lost

Of families torn apart in agony

Death cries of those who have given up

But the world is unheeding

The world stands by, watches, listens

While millions suffer

Their moans drowned by the laughter

Of their tormenters.

The world smells the burned hopes and dreams

The smoke of despair

And the world does nothing.

The people do nothing

As their brothers are murdered.

Rivers of blood flow thick enough to taste

The blood of the martyrs

Cries for vengeance

But the world does not taste

Does not see

Does not hear

Does not smell

Does not feel

Does not. 

w a v e s

Rolling waves

In out

In.

Out.

Crashing in my mind

In my heart

Crash.

Bombardment of

memories

Happy sad

Happy.

Sad.

Images of days past

Filling the chasms of my soul

And freezing there

Expanding

Splitting my heart

Like

Ice

Breaks rock

And I cry

For the kaleidoscope of images

That is my life

For the people who are gone

For my brother.

I cry, but I don’t fall.

I stand

Because I have

Hope.

Yellow and smiling

Filling me

Keeping me

Strong.

Journal

Write a journal, they said
I won't
Won't write about a life devoid of excitement
Won't fill a book with
Lovingly written accounts of
Day in and day out.
But I can do
This.
I can write poems
Words that flow from my mind
Through my fingers
Onto paper
This, this comes easily
This is what I
Love.