They say
(Who says?)
That actions speak
Louder than words;
That one picture is worth
A THOUSAND
Of those words
That value less
Than our actions do.
Every time we pen
A poem
Everyone who writes
A song
A person who scribbles
A story
And the chorus that
Shouts along.
Our words are nothing
If we do not
SAY them
Our actions fall flat
If we do not
SLAY them.
March to the beat of
A tired crowd’s drum
Help raise awareness
For a new age to come.
Push back when the
People tell you to be silent
Push back with your eyes
Just looks can be violent
Hold hands with justice
And true freedom will ring
Hold hands with LOVE
And with loud voices sing
Because you can be a piece
To the miraculous world
Puzzle
You can be a part of the
Solution;
Not part of the muzzle.
It could be hard
Friends and family will contest
They may try to stop you
From leaving to protest
The things that you see
On the news
Night after
Night after
Night after
Night
But this fight
Will be worth it the end
You can be an ally
You CAN be a friend
You can go outside and make
A stand.
Maybe you want to
But fear you cannot
Maybe you don’t know why
This ongoing battle has to be
Fought
The good thing is
This knowledge can be sought
Ignorance forgot
That all is not for nought
And your heart hurts
(A lot)
When you see an innocent
Person
Shot
They were caught
By someone who wasn’t taught
That you must never let
fair judgement rot
No,duh , you should not.
The glint of the moonlight
Against the color of her skin
Is not an excuse
To let bullets sink in
And the way that he looks
Shouldn’t cloud their eyes
If we do not acknowledge this
Where do the truths in this
Country lie?
Red, White, and Blue
But freedom isn’t ringing true
And red just reminds me
Of a quiet jogger’s
Last run.
Of those everywhere
Who are tired of what
The enemy has become
But they are not settling
So the the story isn’t done
I guess we’ll have to keep
Our protests up
Till we all
Can stand us one.
United we stand,
Divided we fall,
Together we can stand,
Or alone we can crawl.
Say the names
To your children
To your friends
And those around
Say the names
To your hands
And then proceed to write them down.
Don’t forget how far away the future seems
When it feels like our home is being
Torn at the seams
By a president who seems
To only be interested in following his own dreams
And who squashes the voices of those
Reaching for a day when people
All people
Say
Black Lives Matter
Without a chorus hollering back
All Lives Matter
As they keep pretending they don’t
See
The fallacies and tone deaf connotations
Of this statement.
A hashtag meant to disarm
But in turn,
Just caused
More harm
By taking attention away
From what is the issue
Like a swarm
Of bees spelling out
RADIANT
In honey
On a farm.
Does it not bring you alarm?
That this has gone on so long
No matter how loud the voices are
That say, “Stop, please,” so strong?
Why are we still stuck on the same
Miserable song?
We have hands
No matter the color
Black, white, brown
We have a need for each other
So CALL on me brother,
When you need a hand.
If we all are leaning on something
Maybe we will learn to fly
And not fall
To
Reunite and
Not have to feel so small
And so alienated
What event instigated
The idea that any of this would make sense?
Are we living in the moment
Or are you stuck in past tense?
Grow up!
Lose the ideas that rich white men
Planted in our heads when they arrived
On boats to steal from people
Who didn’t look
Talk
Act
Live
Like they did.
Darling, darling…
Stand,
Stand by me.
Solidarity.
Set your mind free
Don’t be captive to thoughts
Of a whitewashed
Monopoly
Instead lean towards
A multicolored
CELEBRATION
You can help bring this to a nation
Breaking
Crumbling in the hands of
A guy whose main proclamation
Is a twisted definition of the word
Salvation
Stop this pseudo declaration
Tell the president he isn’t responsible for
Creation
And he’s echoing the voices of
Dictation
Telling people what they can and can’t say;
Using the ration
He’s been given as a reason to up his station
If we can we should use privilege as an
ELEVATION
Use your dollars that you earn as a donation
If you don’t have money
Watch some videos!
If you can’t spare the time
To sit and watch
Leave it on
And let it run
It’s a small thing to do
But we wear glasses against the sun
When it shines too bright
Overwhelming the other natural elements
And draining the fields of life.
Follow the links
To help save future lives
Of generations here and those to come
Damage has been done
(Don’t try to erase it!)
Hundreds of years of hurt
(All the good ones still can’t replace it)
The best way to stop
(Don’t run, we can face it)
Is to not continue
To quit
With the script
That has caused us to split
And to find a new story
And an old director
Who’s had the credits ready
Since before we were born.
Solidarity
Because I can’t think of a future
Where I have to explain to my children
That our friends who aren’t white
Are still being shot down
For just being who they are
Where they are
When they are
Instead of being able to walk
Or run
Or drive with the music turned up
Or reach for a hairbrush
Without worries of not making it back home.
(Author’s Note: More Poems!!! I wrote this one kind of late last night. If there are typos or tone deaf things I said in this poem please call attention to this because I’m trying to use poetry to raise awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement in my community and in our country and I’d hate to be saying things that aren’t true, or sound like something I don’t mean to say. I can’t go protest so I’m writing poetry and short stories this week and knowing that the winners of this contest are going to be part of a great effort in this movement towards justice. I’m so glad to be part of a writing community that supports each other regardless of race, gender, religious backgrounds, nationality, and other differences. It makes me happy to see the Reedsy platform now used as a place to harbor activism of all kinds, not just this kind. Check out my other poem from this week to read about intervention or in my case lack thereof and read my poem from last week to read about the impact of drunk driving. Much love to all followers and readers and writers here with me today! Please comment and say hi below, and see my other poem for links to videos you can watch to donate money to the Black Lives Matter movement when you have no money or time to donate! Life is BUSY but so is the time to change in the country and the World! 🌸⭐️💕🌸⭐️💕)
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Wow, what a great poem. Really great meter and rhyming and wow it was powerful!
I just have to say...I think you're right that we have to stand with those who are oppressed. But I don't understand why people are offended by the slogan "All Lives Matter." I know that when people say that they are usually criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement. But in and of itself, the saying isn't wrong. "All" refers to all, including black lives. Black lives matter because every life matters. Every. Single. One. It doesn't matter if you're black, or white, or brown, or blue. Every life has value and dignity that we as a country or government or just as humans have no right to take away.
People do good things, and people do bad things. Does a white police officer kill a black man because he is racist and wants to kill African Americans, or does he kill him because he was just a horrible person, or does he not mean to kill him, or is he insane? Murder is murder, regardless of race. And good actions are good actions, regardless of race. Are we focusing on the wrong parts of this story?
I think our country is in serious trouble, but I don’t know if we’re even getting to the root of the problem. It’s just all really complicated.
I just…the Holocaust is a really powerful subject to me, and I was just thinking, if Germans had marched around with signs saying “Jewish Lives Matter” would that have changed anything? Come to that, compared to the Holocaust, is this really a big deal? What are we trying to prevent? And if someone knows, please tell me, because I’m honestly not trying to pick a fight or offend anybody. I just want to know what the point is.
Here’s another thought - how come America has this problem and nobody else seems to?
I know that an opinion like this is not generally accepted, but please know that I'm really not trying to offend anybody.
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Hey, thanks for reading my poem and I'm so glad you liked it! For the Black Lives Matter versus All Lives Matter... the main reason it is offensive to people is because when someone is trying to bring up an issue like police brutality and systematic racism in our country by making organizations and groups and starting movements like Black Lives Matter, to counter that with saying All Lives Matter is discounting what we are trying to achieve, which in this matter is ending the murders of African American people by the police. And, ah, America is NOT the only country that has this problem at all, but since we are a pretty important country for better or for worse, we are the center of attention and this can be a good thing because... all eyes on us, what are we going to do? Also... saying this social issue in our country isn't as bad as the Holocaust... that's not relevant. The point of the Black Lives Matter statements over All Lives Matter statements is that white people aren't scared to go to grocery stores because they might get shot for looking suspicious. That doesn't happen. White people aren't worried that if their brothers or husbands or boyfriends are shot by a policeman that no one will care because they think they deserve that even when they were not armed, when they weren't doing anything bad. So when someone sends you a picture featuring the BLM movement and you counter that with All Lives Matter, you are disregarding a plea for help and a call to change the country before things are too bad to fix. You are smashing their hope for a better future and you are saying that they don't matter enough to have their own movement. You are saying, sure, Black lives matter, but in the grand scheme of things everyone matters the same so who cares? Well. That's not cool! So very not cool. It's like you're saying, "Black Lives matter BUT that doesn't matter to me BECAUSE everyone matters. I'm not going to get involved because it's not that big of a deal." So no, All Lives Matter is NOT a bad thing to say but at this moment in time it is not relevant! It's not a good thing to say. It just is off color and tone deaf. Hope that helped and thanks for reading! I can recommend links and videos to you if you'd like to learn more.
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Thank you so much for asking why it was offensive to some; I really appreciate that you are open minded enough to ask. :)
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Thanks for answering. I can see how that would be offensive to some people. I didn't mean that just because all lives matter black lives matter less, or that because all lives matter we shouldn't worry about the "smaller" murders of black people. I just think we're being too...broad. Can we pin down that one crime to mean that we have to overthrow the government because the rest of the police force is also corrupt?
Everyone recognizes that there is a problem, but is this really the best way to fix it? We all have equal rights. If a police man murders another man, he should be punished. If he murdered him because he was racist, he should be punished more for that additional crime. But what exactly are the marches and riots trying to accomplish? All I've heard and seen says that we're trying to dissolve the police force. I think that dissolving the police force would not be the best solution or help solve the problem at all. How will that make anything safer? And what about all the African American police officers? If we're marching to make life better for them, how would this help them?
In my town, peaceful protests that the police force actually participated in have turned into riots and innocent people have gotten hurt and killed. I'm just wondering if there's a better way we can deal with this. A way in which everyone is respected for their inherent human dignity. And nobody has to get hurt or killed, and we don't make things worse.
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Right, that mostly all makes sense to me. :) it’s nice to have a civil conversation about differing opinions.
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Yes! I'm tired of all the angry arguments. I hope this can resolve well for our country.
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Just to let you know, I would never say the thing about the police brutality and racism not being such a big deal compared to the Holocaust anywhere again, because not everyone is up for a civil discussion. You know? Like for your own safety don’t share that thought with others.
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Beautiful!! It's not easy to write a long poetry like that and you did it. I think fighting against racism through poetry is a nice idea because words have power. I am a 13-year-old poet but I'm nowhere near you. :D
I wish I can write a poem about racism that happens to Asians all around the world because of the Covid 19 began in China. I don't think all Asians or Chinese should be mistreated because of their government's fault.
Of course, I would like to write one about Black Lives Matter if I can. I genuinely wish that all the people of the world can live in a harmony no matter what their races are. God bless you, every one of you, no matter who you are.
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And God bless you for your amazing response to the poem! I think it’s great you’re starting out so young, I’m fifteen myself so we’re both around the same age. :) I would love to read your poem in response to what’s going on if you put it on Reedsy. Also, about writing poetry, the best way to do it is to write about everything and everyone all the time day and night dark or light blind or sight. I wrote a poem yesterday at three in the morning for a friend who loves Adam Driver 😂 so that goes to show how much I write with a BROAD range of subjects.
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Wow! It is incredible that you're only two years older than me and you can write those amazing crafts! But I always have many pleasant surprises here on Reedsy, by the hundreds of incredibly talented people.
I agree to you that it is the best way to practice poetry. A true poet should always find beauty in the smallest and sometimes most tedious things in our lives. So I would start out from the smallest details, and finally to the biggest things human hearts can ever hold. It's not easy for me to write English poetry because English is not my first language, but if I keep go on practicing, I'll reap what I have sowed! Thank you so much for your kind advice.
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No worries, my friend! If you don’t mind, what’s your first language?
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My first language is Korean; that's why my last name is Park. :)
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United we stand,
Divided we fall,
Together we can stand,
Or alone we can crawl.
That part really got to me because it's so true. I love how you are fighting for Black lives through poetry. It's true that most of us can't go out to fight, so the least we can do is use our words to do the trick. Great job!
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Great!! Almost made me tear up!!
I would love if you could check out my stories too
XElsa
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I did; they were FANTASTIC! Everyone check her stories out please! You'll be happy you did!
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Thank you, Rhondalise!!
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I'm so glad to hear courageous voices like yours, telling the truth like it is. We have a long way to go before we can achieve real equality, but an important part of the fight is speaking up! I stand with you in the fight, as an ally. Black lives do matter and we need to fight against racism stronger than ever!
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Thank you for listening to this! Another big part of the fight against racism is listening and reading. And using our voices as allies to reach others is a great use of talent!
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Great story!
I like that your using poems to help spread awareness!
Great job!
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🌸🌸🌸🌸💕💕💕💕⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️thank you, Avaniiiiii!
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Yesss, haha!
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Do you think it's cool to make me cry? Lol, just kidding. Great Story!
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I think it’s cool if it conveys a strong message 😂! Thanks for reading, General!
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I'm on the verge of tears this was so well done and conveyed such an important message. Wow.
Sincerely,
A.
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Thank you, that means a lot not just to me but that I conveyed a message so well to you means you understood the message through this poem and that makes all the difference. :D 💕💕💕thank you for being my first commentator!!!
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Welcome, Rhondalise!
-A.
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Although I do have slightly different opinions, I did enjoy reading your take on everything going on in the world at the moment with all of the racism issues. You kept the flow of the poem smooth throughout the whole thing. Kudos to you for being able to keep on writing it until the end; I wouldn't be able to. Keep writing and stay healthy! :) -Brooke
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Thank you so much! I’m glad you appreciated it even with different views.
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You're welcome!
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Great job. The way you represented this topic in a great poem. Could see your professionalism even though you are just 15 years old. I'm 14 but I'm nowhere near you. You write so beautifully.
Would you mind to read my story too and share your opinions on it.
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For sure, no worries!
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