i was 11 years old when i first heard of the 

death of trayvon martin

too unaware and young to comprehend

that he was simply just a black

teenager erased from life due to the hatred

and malice that laid in ones heart 

 

i was 13 years old when i heard

of the death of eric garner

who stated over and over 

that he could not breathe

i did not understood why he died

but i knew that there was not a hint of

mercy in those that took his life

 

i was 14 years old when i heard of the

death of michael brown

my mind was starting to put the pieces together

realizing that it is the same scenario

just a different black being

who was once again, 

eradicated from life

 

i was 19 years old 

when i found out about the death

of aiyana jones

who was just a child when her light extinguished

a child who simply did not

get to live through a childhhood

and never had a chance to grow up and develop

 

i was 19 years old when i found out

about the death of ahmaud arbery

who was a man once again, 

taken out of existence 

and the reason begin the color of his skin

and if i knew that one’s color of skin

could be a reason that leads to homicide,

violence, and pure evil

then i would have just washed off

my brown skin ages ago

so i would not take a chance

of being misjudged and mistreated

 

i was 19 years old when the death of

george floyd started a revolution

because this endless cycle of expunging

innocent people of color from life

has yet to stop

and these are a few that have passed

out of the many

that have moved onto the afterlife

and for now let us know,

that there deaths were not 

in vain

but to start a change