I have yet to understand

why Blacks in this land, do not strive to leave the country that constantly rapes them of their dignity

Yet to understand

where the kindness towards the others comes from; the courage to smile and just keep it moving

Yet to understand

why they long to be like people who do not care anymore for them than they do for their property

I struggle to understand

why they choose not to do more for themselves by learning the system created to suffocate the life out of them

struggle to understand

why they are quick to give away their power and tap dance for modern-day masters while being laughed at and held beneath their knees

struggle to understand

when they choose to stop dreaming of creating a life that is better for the next generation so that manacles can finally be broken

I fail to understand

why seeds are sown but the reluctance to gift your name so your children can build on a generation of strength, change, and difference

fail to understand

because in this land they are moving targets and faceless souls that haunt the dominant gaffers of their wrongdoings

fail to understand

because they are governed by the descends of those who flourish in the breach to be in control and will do whatever it takes to remain in that power

I strive to understand

because while their people continue to console weeping mothers, the others continue to wear badges, robes that continue to tip the scales of power in their favor

strive to understand

since the stories remain the same why their smiles do not change

strive to understand

how they have more resources, more access, more knowledge, more rights yet their voices are muffled

What I do understand

is this is their home, yet they do not belong; they do not fit in; they must be silenced because their Black is too STRONG for others to just let them live.