anne taylor

i’ve never needed to imagine 

if a jog, without any warning, 

would become the chase of my life

and turn into a day of mourning

i’ve never needed to imagine 

if an unproven accusation

would strip the air from my lungs

and choose my burial or cremation

i’ve never needed to imagine

if the color of my skin 

would decide consequences of my actions

and stamp all my deeds with “sin”

i’ve never needed to imagine

the hurt and doubt and fear

of never knowing who was on my side

or if I really belonged here

because if I try to imagine

a country built not for me, but for you

where my cries for help were ridiculed

I’d want to burn it down too

but now I do need to imagine

a life of abandonment and neglect

how a country built on equal rights

can choose who it gets to reject

how tears of pain and call for change

so quickly become “too much”

and why those same calls in a softer form

are undoubtedly never enough 

silence still says something

and it’s time to choose where we stand

are we going to sit back and watch

or hold out a helping hand?

it’s time I look at my privilege

and accept what I’ve been to blind to see

the privilege to not need think about it

and not wonder “when will that happen to me”

no one should feel as if their life

is less important because of their skin

the America I want to be a part of

is a place where everyone wins