*A poem I wrote to the black woman in power who ARE bought and bossed, losing their soul and breaking their consciousness in the process. Inspired by my high school experience at Berkeley Carroll

 

I never want power

If I will be at the mercy seat of money

If I have to deny my beliefs and values

If I have to live in a fabricated world

In a version of myself, I never knew

 

I never want power

If I must befriend my enemies

If I am a puppet

If someone is moving my lips, hands, and feet

Grinding the gears of my brain

 

I never want power

If my presence ignites fear

If people connections are a performance

If invisible tears flow

I’ve forgotten who I am

 

I never want power

If perfection is to be demanded from me

If my every move is being monitored and scrutinized

If my authenticity is a show

I've lost who I am 

 

Grandma didn’t raise me this way

Who am I?

 

But I’ve Found Min(d)(e)

 

I’ve found the burned words of my ancestors

crushed and designated

tossed into the sea

 

I’ve seen true pain

that I will continue to see

I must continue to see

Feeling

experiencing

 

To believe 

To open the blind eyes of others to believe

I must no longer be blind or walk with them for my eyes long to be uncovered 

 

I’ve born witness to the rise of a revolution 

a generation of courage

breaking the chains of the devils doing

 

I’m seeing the evil of racism and everything not of love bend on its sides 

Twisted 

Wrang out

Dried

 

The time is now

Courage is calling

And I will

I must 

Answer the call 

L’union fait la force.