—this poem ain't passive—

this poem got hands

calloused from picking through propaganda

this poem got a mouth

full of names they tried to erase

it does not beg

it does not plead

it don’t ask for permission

to breathe

this poem walks into Congress

with cornrows and questions

asks—

why the babies still hungry?

why the rivers run black?

why truth sounds like rebellion

only when a Black person says it?

they scared

’cause this poem ain’t polite

ain’t bipartisan

ain’t built for photo ops

it’s built for survival

built like Ferguson nights

like kitchen-table resistance

like a mama saying

don’t let them rewrite you, baby

this poem got facts

folded in the folds of its fist

got hope sharp enough

to cut through press releases

it sees your suit

and raises you a grave

filled with promises

you forgot how to keep

i write

because silence is a system

and i was not born

to obey it.

©️MustafaSantiagoAli