Smashed windows
Town stores burned to the ground
Streets blocked
Cars as our stepstools
This is not peaceful
Ruined views
Torn down pews
Yelled, screamed, shouted your brother’s name
I am his keeper
This is not peaceful
Blocked the bridges
Time went past their clock-in because of it
So this is not peaceful
Steam streaming out of our memories
My father has become a memory
My brother has become a dream
My sister has become an angel
My mother has become a victim
But this is not peaceful!?
So let us be peaceful
Let us remain calm
Let us give them what they want
Standing by as oppression continues
Is a peaceful protest what you expect
Shot after shot
Life stolen after life taken
How can you bring yourself to say the words this is a riot not a protest when you are uprooting
our family trees
Each of the leaves that you pick off of the stem sends a shock that each branch connected to
the trunk cringes for
But you will continue to ignore that until you’re on time for work
So let me put your job before my life
We all know that there is not price to pay for a life taken by your workforce if the color of my skin
resembles the dirt you tread onto the persian rugs in the mansions of those safe neighborhoods
We’re planning yet another funeral
But you want us to be peaceful
Is anybody listening when we’re chanting “NO JUSTICE NO PEACE” because those words
aren’t just words
It means something to us
So the next time you’re dreading the price of the bruise in your storefront remember that the
broken glass controlling your vision can be replaced
A life can not
A heartbeat can not
A person can not be replaced
We will never hear their voices again but you want us to be peaceful?
You don’t think we noticed that you react to our anger
That our frustration with injustice is taunting your sadomasochistic ego
Murder me!
Then accuse me of causing you to fear my empty palms
Intolerance can only last so long before the intolerable enters into our revenge
Embeds into our skin
Makes you cringe with the thought of giving in
We want equality
Not sin
But once again you want us to battle fire with diction
Then complain the the language we use
The language you fed us
is accurately degrading
If we decide to perform the same actions that you do then we’re the criminals
Welcome to the life of a minority under pressure
This is not the last resort
This will not be peaceful
We will continue
Volume rising
Flames will over power your bias
Make sense of these actions before demonstration commences
A peaceful king resulted in a silver ticket to casket
We've tried this before
And still we're begging for the same causes
No peace
But who's at fault for that?