“here i am” by Giovanni Thompson

it’s terrifying how much hate

they harbor within,

all because they fear

the color of my skin

in the midst of our pain & suffering,

here i am, standing in my melanin

i won’t stay silent anymore

there’s nothing left in me

but to wage war

and there’s too many tears

for me to ignore

for black lives to matter too

is all we ask for

i heard the pain in his voice

when he couldn’t breathe,

clenched purses when i walk

down the street,

the mercy my brothers on trial plead,

and on black people

they continue to feed

they want us to buy their can of bull

so they can feed on us like a cannibal

and shoot us like a cannonball

we’ve had enough

at the bottom of the totem pole

so we’re raging in the streets,

steaming like a sewer hole,

filled with anger

for the innocent lives they stole

to update their agenda with

a new death toll

rest in power

to those taken by the hands of police

forever i will fight,

forever i will stand

so if i have to be ripped apart

to put the world together,

then lay me on the front line

and pull the trigger

here i am