Hashtag

A white male shouldn't
talk about this.
But to say nothing
would be sacrilegious.

Of course
#AllLivesMatter
for those who say it.
Their lives, my life, have always mattered.

Black Lives haven't
Mattered
for the past 400 years:
Slavery.
Jim Crow.
Emmitt Till.
Civil Rights.
Socialized Racism.
Mass Incarceration.
Police Shootings.

#BlackLivesMatter
because they don't.
Even though they should.
Even though those who say
#AllLivesMatter
and I
want them to
want to believe they do
want Black Lives to Matter
to Everybody.

But they don't.
And no number
of hashtags
alone
is going to
#change
that.

The Current of My Heart

Out West, it is cleaner, greener, freer;
I thrived near green forests and the blue sea.
But I’m moving to a cold, dry place,
Fighting against the current of my heart.

I thrived near green forests and the blue sea.
Now I am a salmon swimming upstream,
Fighting against the current of my heart,
Back to live, breed at the place of my birth.

I am a salmon struggling upstream,
Swimming with fish I haven’t seen in years,
Back to live, breed at the place of my birth.
There’s a reason I left to begin with.

Out West it is cleaner, greener, freer;
There’s a reason I came to begin with.
I am moving to a cold and dry place,
Fighting against the current of my heart.