I swear I'm alive

I can hear myself breathing

I can feel my heart beating

So why can't you see me?

Middle-Class White America

Am I that large of a threat

Can my 5'4 black frame cause so much disruption to your way of life

That you let those in command put on blinders so tight, so narrow

that you can't even see your own black shadow

White America fills children with fear

of the night

of the darkness 

of themselves

The night holds many treasures blinded by the light of day

Darkness is where true peace lays

And your own dark skin, is beautiful.

We matter, 

Michael Brown matters, present tense

Trayvon Martin matters, present tense

I matter, present tense...future tense.