We are barely surviving the treacherous waters, trying to tread violently but making no progress,
Suddenly we are submerged deeper in the sea, unable to escape, and expected to just drown.
Then in the midst of the havoc, our ancestors look to us to persevere and swim upward,they paved the way
while our oppressors insist that we aren’t even underwater.
That we aren’t even drowning.
But I sit, with water filling my lungs near my last breath,
While they know nothing but fresh air, unaware of what is like to drown.
Back then, they Captured us, and told us we were inferior,uncivilized, monkeys
While they whipped us out of mere pleasure bonding us to shackles referring to us as objects.
Aren’t they the real animals?
Now they remind us we are all equal we all receive the same,
While they have all the air,
And we are still underwater.
Now, our brothers and fathers can’t even make it home without the fear of drowning,
In fact many of their bodies lie deep at sea.
Out of reach, and never had a chance to have clear air.
All of us were born underwater.
And we are still there.
But just when we are close to reaching the surface,
To taking our first breath of air,
We strain our voices and say that “we matter”
That we deserve to breath air
That we deserve basic human decency and equality
And to no longer suffer at the hands of the violent riptide
They sickness that is racism and all bigotry
Says, “we all deserve to be above water, to not drown”
But we are the only ones drowning,
Although barely surviving,
We keep the ocean waves flowing,
We keep society moving,
We matter
I matter
Black lives matter