THERE'S STILL HOPE

THERE’S STILL HOPE

By Jackie Reyes

Violence 

It no longer lingers in the night

No matter the time, nor the place

It will find a way to fill an enraged heart

We’re no longer safe, even in the most simplest places

Fear 

Fills our minds

Consumes our bodies

We live off it

But how can we truly live, if we’re afraid too?

Afraid we won’t make it to another day?

To see the sun rise again?

To love someone, just before they’re taken away

Because they look a certain way?

“But how can we truly live, if we’re afraid too?
Afraid we won’t make it to another day?”

Pain

Fills my heart

It aches for the hearts that no longer beat

The people we’ll never meet

The people who are put down by the white man

The people who the government plot on

The people who are not wanted to see succeed

The people who came, and wanted a better life

The people whose land was stolen from them 

They are who I stand with

Dear future

If I drop my kids off at school

Will they make it to noon?

To read the note in their lunch pails, that says “I love you, and I’ll see you soon?”

Friend, do I worry when you leave?

Wondering if your skin color will be a problem for the man who hides behind a badge

Shall we forever live in fear?

Earth, let us show you we are worthy of your sanctuary 

Let us grow together and heal each other 

Let us be united, and give us the chance to live

To save our future

“Wondering if your skin color will be a problem for the man who hides behind a badge...”

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