Divided
A world divided
We live in a world
Where things such as black and white
Things that should be black and white
Become gray and selective depending on topics
The trending topic for several years is what lives matter
There shouldn’t be a disconnect
But people should connect the dots
And paint the picture of the two different worlds
That we live in…
Enter the multiverse
Racism marvels and our leader wants to snap away the “problem” with their Thanos fingers
We’re not the problem
We’ve just been living in this infinite war for generation after generation
Where we’ve become conditioned that in order for us to make a change
We must incite a reaction
We have voices
We have actions
We have power
We matter
And we will be our own Avengers creating this blockbuster moments for history
That when people read in textbooks
They will have to full digest all of this
We are distraught
We are angry
We drained
We are tired
We are done
We see sometimes what we want to see
We hear only key words or phrases that make us go through phases of dealing with consequences that a normal troubled heart faces
We are sometimes afraid to speak rationally so through irrational actions we get our point across
All of these things equate to the world we live in
I usually don’t do this, speak my mind on current events
But when the events currently have me sometimes afraid to do anything let alone misbehave
I just go numb…
Everything goes black
Start to see white
And then we’re back in this gray area
I just want things to change
I want my mind to be at ease
Because right now it’s a constant struggle between sadness and anger
And I know people can relate
Video Games & Movies
It’s like we are living in a video game
The things I’ve read, seen and witnessed in a week
Could’ve all been scripted for the next Grand Theft Auto
Senseless acts of violence
Over and over again
Senseless killings
Over and over again
As if people are inept to the five senses
They see nothing wrong with what they’re doing
They don’t hear the cries of the victims
They feel no remorse for their actions
As if the devil has overtaken them
Ravenously seeking out pain and torment that they can taste
And they don’t have any words because their actions speak loudly for themselves
The state of my mental wants to volley back and forth
But I’m not letting it win
My mind is saying drink
Well I’m not trying to be buzzed for lightyears
As we living out a toyed story of how a system
Wants to be our Andy and we should join in and sing you got a friend in me
Nah I’m not doing that, I’m not Woody
We’ve been buzzed for lightyears thinking that things will get better with time
Yeah, too infinity and beyond right?
I watched the same movie
We tired of waiting
We want the change now
And we gonna be the change
Lady Liberty
Lady Liberty
Where are you when we need you
Everything that you fought for
That you stand for
Is being tested
True colors being displayed
Of the hamster wheel we’ve been living in
For generations
Since America was born
The system
The ranking of races
Even with all the hurdles we’ve overcome
It’s look like it was all practice on the track & field
We think going the distances meant progress
Only to have been shotput leaps and bounds in the wrong direction
We just want to be seen and treated as equal
And be freed from the chains engrained in our core
That to them, we’re just chaotic animals fighting a losing battle
And there waiting for us to become unchained
So they can put us down
We are in the midst of a burgeoning Martial Law
But this is not the dragon fist, flip kicking fighter from Tekken
They’ve taken our iron fists that we’ve peacefully held up high demanding equality
And told us to follow them or else
This is not a game anymore
Things are getting real
I pray for all of us
I pray that this fight that we’ve been fighting for so long
That we will be finally heard
Cuz right now…
The media shows
Cops beat us up
A life been taken down
Riots go up
Curfews come down
States on the left
45 on the right
Resolution on the left
Control is on the right
Beneath it All
You can start to see the cracks of a nation
And not a cheat code in the world can make it better
Look At Me
Look at me
Now really look at me
Get past the dichotomy that’s been engrained in everyone’s head
What you want to believe versus what you are taught to believe
This skin
I am more than a history’s outlook of how we should be portrayed
No matter the time period
I am more than a statistic
A stereotype
Anything that begins with a ST
And not to end with a D
Because we are not a disease
And infection that you cannot be immune to
We are kings
We are queens
We are a movement
Our voice echoes
The past, present and the future
Renaissance men and women
More creative in ways
That popular culture would like very different
If it wasn’t for this pigment
I am black
I am then
I am now
I am what’s to come
We are not less than
We are equal
We just want to be heard
And not for your entertainment
I am black
And you will not take that away from me
“Look At Me” has been published by Trampset Lit.
“My work encompasses BLM because it depicts the emotions that we as African Americans have faced over generations and how the recent events have an effect on us. My work aims to tackle these issues and give a sign of hope to the future where we can all recognize the issues head on and come to a resolution. “
Twitter: @r_d_johnson
IG: @rdjohnsonwrites