Can I shine a light
Even though I am white?
When a black boy takes flight
Do I lynch him with my might?
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No, my lynching is an act of silence
My privilege generates colonial violence
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Violation at 1 AM
That car’s too nice for him to be in
Pulled over, searched, it’s a sin
Humiliated for the color of his skin
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While my privilege knows no bound
His life’s a tragedy being unwound
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Too long he’s lingered in that aisle
Convicted in advance without a trial
I silence his voice; I’m a negrophile
I foster his inequality with a smile
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My word to him, you choose life on the margin
Segregated from “normal”, chagrined
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Enough! I must act; make recompense
Your vulnerability is no pretense
Your trauma quite real and intense
Ouroboros-like unending, immense
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I must treat your post-traumatic stress
By giving you the opportunity for true redress
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2020
Written in memory of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black man killed by two white men and filmed by a third in Georgia USA