BY GLORIA O’KOYE
When will peace be taken seriously?
Instead of waiting for riots to erupt
For demands to be answered
When will petitions and hunger strikes
be taken seriously as heed warnings
Instead of reaching crisis mode,
And public become aware
At breaking news coverage
When will there be a time
That basic physiological needs be taken account for
Instead of being stripped away
Leaving vulnerability out in the open
Then judged for all the dirt being disclosed.
Even if there is no empathy for the inhumane conditions within human cages,
Even if hearts turn to ice and stones
For humans struggling below living wages.
Could there be a bit of sympathy for those adorn in badges and uniforms?
Marching frontline in the midst of chaos
Having families regret
For not talking them out of their career choice!
Even calculating the drainage of taxpayers wallets,
Where the money trickles away like the landscape at Niagara Falls.
Where do you think higher ups,
Get to cover up the cost for damages,
They won’t break bread from the same
Dinner table
People would have thought.
Would cities go in flames be the only solution?
Public service producers as hostages the only way that folks voices will be listened?
Why must the oppressed become the oppressor?
For any requests to proceed further
Another curse placed decades ago,
How heartbroken fills the earth’s surface from our ancestors
