I awoke early 13th of December 2014 with the birth of this poem….tired and restless and not wanting to get out of bed….the pressure of inspiration compelled me to grab a pen and any scrap of paper to write before daybreak when the words would be like a fog to recall again. I was thinking about what happened in Ferguson as well as other parts of the world: Palestine, Congo, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Syria, India, and sadly the list is longer… where men, youth, boys are dying before their time. At least in my opinion it seems my generation is perishing fighting for the right to exist…how can this be in the 21st century. What type of world is this? It is far from the comfort of story time with my parents as a child….where war was a word not mentioned let alone apart of my vocabulary unless of course you grew up playing “King of the Hill, pine cone wars or apple wars (basically whatever our young minds could find in abundance as ammunition to throw at the opposing team) The news is becoming a burden to watch…my heart has been stirring from the sorrow of not just what has happened in places like Ferguson but to all those who live in communities where they are crying to be heard. Who would have thought that one needed to say my life matters when God created all of us period. There is room enough on this planet for all of us to live peaceable with each other.
Color-lines drawn
With the In-o-Me
The drum-line beat pounds
Ba bum ba bum ba bum
All nations created from one blood
Spiraling into the abyss of a justice system lacking judgment
Robed men clothed in bias
Here… hear…we stand
Human
Stating our case
While our bodies are riddled with false accusations
While the unjust spew hate laced with pious dogmas
It’s a wonder
World half-baked with the legalization of weed
Drunk with hours’ worth of cable T.V.
Reading books has become a novelty
Leaving behind empty shells blank staring eyes
Hypnotized by toxic dietary practices
We need to make a permanent change my friend
365 days a year…New year resolutions
Cannot change 12 months of bad decisions
360 degree turn swerve…
For your life depends on it.
SABREEHNA S. ESSIEN 