WAR NO MORE | Teen Ink

WAR NO MORE MAG

January 21, 2015
By Tifara BRONZE, Athens, Georgia
Tifara BRONZE, Athens, Georgia
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


Dr. King, I respect your legacy, sure enough
But right now I just wanna scream and tear up some stuff
You preached
WAR NO MORE
But I can take no more
Like Othello was king of the Moors
I am black and royal, loved but blinded by the kind
Of hatred that turns me against myself and my kind
WAR NO MORE
Is the chant of those who seem afraid to have their bodies laid
In plank formation on the streets like our ancestors in the ships en route from Mother Africa
How can I chant
WAR NO MORE
When every time I turn on my television,
My vision is stained with the blood of my brothers and lovers and I cry
Their blood cries out from the concrete floor of the jungle of NYC,
Thursday July 17th –
Eric Garner, rest in peace,
How can you say
WAR NO MORE
When my inheritance is a bull’s-eye on my chest,
When my birthright is the receiving end of the second amendment? How dare you say
WAR NO MORE
When you’re born to contend with the system
When my baby sister’s skin is as black as a clear midsummer night’s dream
And a ceasefire is not enough to contain the fire that burns in me
To fight for her,
To help her bear the burden she did not ask to carry,
The burden of her broken crown seems too much to bear,
When the wool of the Lamb of God is the texture of your kinky hair,
Like my Savior of Whom you spoke,
Dr. King!
You preached peace in your pulpit,
Like Jesus we are to be silent on our way to the slaughter,
His love is the remedy for the poison injected into our self-image,
For we are terminally ill from a lack of self-love.
WAR NO MORE
Sounds beautiful on Sunday,
But how do I bear the blood of my ancestors on Monday,
As it flows through the streets on Tuesday, Rumaine Brisbon
Wednesday, holding my breath in silent prayer until
Thursday, Akai Gurley
Friday, Jordan Baker, Jonathan Farrell
Saturday, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice
Maybe one day WAR NO MORE will be,
But right now it is but a mirage in the deserted being that is
Me.


The author's comments:

I wrote this piece from the perspective of someone who is not so keen on Dr. King’s peaceful, non-violent policy. I wanted someone who has been feeling the pain of recent national events to have a voice, and to have someone looking from the outside in understand what it feels like to see your people dying in the streets every week in the news. My hope is that my pain does not sound whiny but that it comes across as organic and genuine as possible. This is the cry of someone who wants “war no more” no more.  


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Blak3000 said...
on Jan. 26 2015 at 10:36 pm
Tee this was great... I'm soooo proud of you! Keep up the good work!
Tee Tee