Breath Taken Away

I

Can’t

Breathe

I

Can’t

Breathe

The phrase of a man not resisting,

Not struggling,

Except for trying to take life essential oxygen into his lungs

The world we live in

So much taken for granted,

Yet,

I will never truly understand the struggle,

I will gladly stand next to you,

To be a shoulder to cry on,

Allowing someone to share their pain,

Frustration,

But never taking for granted their breath of air that they have taken,

No,

I cannot truly walk in your shoes,

However,

I can see the pain written on so many faces,

The struggle to take in that life-giving force,

Filling our lungs so that our bodies can continue doing what we need them to do,

Stolen,

Broken,

The struggle of not being able to breathe,

Much like an asthmatic who cannot find their rescue inhaler,

Rescue,

Like in the need of medication to breathe freely with no weight on your chest

We need to pull our brothers and sisters up from the ground,

Give them our ears,

Lend them our time,

Show them love and patience,

For not being able to breathe is like living underwater,

The weight of this world crashing down around us,

Yet,

We still don’t have the time of day to listen,

So many times, do we make something about us,

When there are social injustices happening everywhere,

To think as a nation, we have come so far in aspects we never dreamed of,

Yet we are stuck on the most simplistic things that so many have fought for,

Social injustice needs to stop,

To think someone would think of their 4-year-old daughter as their protector,

As they would be judged otherwise walking in a neighborhood,

What world is this?

The brutality and betrayal of humans is beyond measurable,

I

Can’t

Breathe

Words that are uttered from a man pleading for his life,

How can anyone let that sit on their conscious and not feel remorse,

We need to break this vicious cycle,

I will say it again,

I will never truly understand,

But,

I will stand by you and be there whatever that may mean

For in my eyes,

We are all human beings,

We are all here for a purpose,

I cannot stop my heart from bleeding out to those who are hurting,

Misunderstood,

Afraid to be in their own skin,

No one should ever feel this way,

With great power,

Comes great responsibility,

We need to grasp this phrase,

And understand that we have the power to make a change,

We must stand up,

We must be proud,

We must let them know,

Black Lives Matter.