Tag: African American

Role Reversal

therooflesschurchLeave a comment

To you I have never existed
But here I am just the same
Being who I know I am
Though called by another name
A screen for your projections
You see me as you are
And if I dare to set the record straight
You say that you’re the one with scars
But from the very beginning
You have tried to tell our story
But I refuse to read your script
You can deny but can’t ignore me
Because the day I was unborn
Was the day I began emerging
Knowing myself as I am known
Moved on by the Spirit’s urging
Let’s call it a role reversal
By returning I’m going faster
Undoing what could never be
Until Love’s the only master

Image by Ian Ransley

For 28 Days

therooflesschurchLeave a comment

For 28 days
More people pay attention
To stories less told
Or that hardly get mentioned
Some get repeated
Just as before
About bridges and buses
And who’s here no more
For 28 days
We acknowledge the challenge
That healing can’t happen
If we ignore the damage
And for 28 days
We try to do better
By telling ourselves
That we’re in this together
But on the 29th day
Or on a leap year it’s thirty
Some forget once again
And stop getting hands dirty
Then for 337 days
Their memories fade
Until a tragedy happens
And we go into rage
Then we’re back to day one
Wondering how did this happen
Repeating the stories
We’re perpetually trapped in