How Many Will it Take?
How many names
will it take
‘til we can no longer fake
that all lives matter
and are treated the same.
That we don’t know
what happens under cover
of night
of broad daylight
of white-ness?
Videos on cell phones
the ubiquitous witness.
We can’t pretend
not to know
what we’ve sown
How many names?
How many faces?
How many nameless,
faceless,
lives ended
suspended
upended.
Is the system broken?
Or working exactly as intended?
What will it take
for us to awaken?