The anthem commences
While the automatons rise impulsively,
To salute their freedom
But a human kneels,
To salute his freedom
A gesture acknowledging some who blindly stand
As for him, he didn’t want to stand for injustice

To the man who was choked:?It was just you that day
The oppressed against his oppressors
There was time for videos
Lack thereof for intervention
The automatons were preoccupied with their liberty
Oblivious to your injustice, blissfully ignorant to any injustice
“I can’t breathe” you cried eleven times
But still, the blind stay blind and the deaf stay deaf

To the boy with the toy gun:
You could never have known what society demanded of you:
Adulthood from day one
You had no time for error
And no time for learning
The first and last lesson came in the form of a metal bullet
Your teacher left like clockwork
To tell your family what had happened
He could only stare-
Dazed by their mournfully bitter tears
To automatons, a routine is a routine

To the men with their hands in the air:? All of you surrendered a long time ago
And they knew that
To the naked eye, all of you were unarmed
To their eyes, while all of you breathed, you were all a weapon
“Sir, why did you shoot me?”
“I don’t know” it said
The automaton that stands for freedom is the same one that takes it

Hopeful dissidents stood proudly
As one of them began to speak
“I have a dream” he declared
But that’s all it ever was- to the automatons
America- land of the free
America- a dream