Poetry from the inside: Say their names

by Kahene Peterkin

I keep hearing it in marches over and over again

But when will it end

And know what gets me? 

This is a repeat

Only the words were different in the 60s

We keep asking why

Which is really funny

They’re the same people who honor Robert E Lee

And yet claim to reject slavery

Don’t it get ya

That like Jews honoring a statue of Hitler

Cory Booker lost control as a man

Arguing with Paul Rand on the senate floor

Cuz they see no reason to get rid of the lynching law

But Republicans did and left it the same

Come on! Brothers and Sisters say their name

Damn right I will do paragraph in a land with whites having a right to kill

January 6th should have woken us up

Let had that been Black Lives Matter

Being 100ft closer would’ve been hard

Being blocked by National Guards

But we saw white supremacists with beliefs of superiority

That day should have made us all question ourselves

And learn to love one another

All we saw them white people out to kill us

Young, Old, Man, Woman, civilian, police even politicians

They were all there with the same cause

And look what they did

I believe we should defund the police

Not to rid of law enforcement

But to oversee the millions going to them

And not being used in the community they police

Yes, they get millions

And this was all new to me

And you wonder why ain’t nothing in our community

The money is used on guns, rockets, gasses, tanks and artillery

They preparing for a new world order and the day to slaughter

You and me

We’re left with names noone would ever forget

Damn! This bothers me a lot

But here’s a few names in case you forgot

Sandra Bland was killed in a jail cell with no help, yet

We were told she killed herself

Aka I Gurley only left his apartment to walk down the steps

Until a trigger-happy cop put two in his chest

Should have never been a reason for a chokehold

But that’s not what killed George Floyd

It was a coward who thought cuz of

Protection immunity he was protected by law

And until we get rid of that protected immunity

They’ll continue to kill people like you and me

And this is not about training failure

It’s straight-up murder like with Brianna Taylor

No one was charged with her death

They have such gall

But they cared about the white neighbor

Cuz a bullet went through her wall

What about Brianna and the bullets that went through her?

This sh** makes you want to kill

And why not, cuz they will

So many others

Byron Williams, Miriam Carey

Philando Castile, Christian Taylor, Troy Robinson

And don’t forget Clifford Glover

These are only a few, sad to say it’s more

Black and Brown people wake up, we’re at war

As for George Floyd, I tried to watch the video

And it made me cry

I could imagine what it did to his daughter

Maybe we should police our own community

And try to live together with unity

This sh** has changed my life and how I think

And worry about my nephews

Cuz God forbid I won’t want to talk, about what I’ll do

But believe it’ll drive me crazy

Why?

Cuz Brothers and Sisters ain’t you tired of marching?

Yelling “say their name” to deaf ears?

Do politicians that make the laws listen?

No

They did what they did with the Black Panthers

And labeled them terrorists

Before ever seeing Black Unity exist

They have to propagate hate

How could the words “Black Lives Matter” cause so much hate?

It’s like we’re back in 1868

This is just food for thought

To entice the brain

And pray there comes a day

We won’t have to march, yelling “Say their names.”

Send our brother some love and light: Kahene Peterkin, 08A3192, Southport CF, P.O. Box 2000, Pine City, NY 14871-2000.

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