Look at me, because I see you.
Hear me, because I listen to you.
Touch me, the way my people have touched every crevice of your culture.
Our soulful flavor and flavorful soul permeate a society, designed to shut us out;

No, to deny us the right to exist.
Do not erase me because you do not understand me; you fear me; you hate me.

I don't have the privilege of reciprocation.

When we fear the very people sworn to defend us, is it protect and serve, or neglect and unnerve?
A system built on the whipped b(l)acks of the weakened and worn is

doomed to fail

at the hands of the ubiquitous mighty and mastered rich.
Share with me, because I want to taste that "kool-aid".
Respect me, because I love you.
Talk to me, because I don't understand.