03 February 2020

Never the Right Time to be Silent

We were protesting violence 
when violence met us 
Gun in hand, firing 

We were standing up 
for people losing their lives 
when our lives were lost 

We were demanding 
our voices be heard 
when they were 
forever silenced 

We would not accept 
being treated 
as less than human 
when they made us 
less than alive 

We fell at Kent State, 
at Jallianwala Bagh 

Our blood spilled 
onto the streets 
of Orangeburg, 
South Carolina, 
Soweto, 
Tiananmen Square 

We are the casualties 
of nonconformity 

The system wanted 
us to remain dutifully 
quiet and complacent 

But it was never 
the right time 
to be silent 


10 Dec 2019

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