Black Lives

Oh Sweet Honey,

I strive to return to you, 

But I’m in a world where I cannot hide 

Stuck between my humanity and my punishment,

They spit n’ do away with us,

As the bus hauls us away, chains n’ all,

Clinging in unison- in despair 

Being black becomes my sentence 

Oh Sweet Honey,

My face betrays my innocence , while

the blackness in my skin screams guilt,

As the truth in my voice is  mistaken, 

Mistaken with the cries of a wounded animal, 

masked in pain, and losing will 

Oh Honey,

I seem to be out of options,

As the cell becomes my birthright- and the jail my home,

I scream "Justice!", while they shout “Silence!"

They pick up arms and point in my direction, 

As if my cry for help is a threat! 

As if my voice should be feared…

It might be difficult for us- me and you to escape this fate. 

But Honey, 

Oh Sweet Honey,

Has our congregation not noticed our absence? 

Do they not question all of our empty seats?

I neva’ thought I’ll be alone, 

As we sang “We Can’t Be Moved”, 

But it seems that I was wrong, 

as the solitude in myself continuously  grows. 

Sweet Honey, Please explain to me 

Why I can’t find my way out of this predetermined path to servitude?

I’ve been property continuously-

I’ve been dispensable historically

The security embedded in my identity, 

Stripped off it’s rights and dignity. 

I, 

half-man, half-bastard

Of the country who has raised, 

and abandoned me. 

And You, 

Sweet Freedom, 

are the only vision I see.