Trussed
A country built on fears
made of multiple tiers
causing mothers
to shed tears
because others
cannot contain their scares
We cannot ‘run’ free
that’s now news to me
for when they see me
in the land of the free
they somehow still
see – property
I step out of line
wrong place – right time
the body on the ground
looks just like mine
but it’s not a crime
No – not this time
Shackles removed from
hands and feet
nooses and bodies on trees
you will no longer meet
but our lives are snuffed out
with a thought and a squeeze
In this land sitting pretty
the brave ones roam free
preying on human beings
like maggots and fleas
dictate to me
just who I should be
in the land of the free
not built for people like me
Not built for people like me, but built by people like me.
Oye! Ting to make yuh blood boil!
With the rash of stories over the past 4 months and the most recent one of the murder of George Floyd this piece is more relevant now than you can imagine. You piece, if read back in the 1950s or today, is sadly contemporary and until this society changes it will continue to be. Thank you for expressing truth in words and taking, head on, topics which make others cower.