to epoch. scene one

i wish i could be born again.
i wish i could be born with privilege
without having to wear a hoodie in fear that
someone will shoot me because of melanin
without having to wear a scarf in fear that
someone will threaten me because religion
without having to speak a different language
in fear that someone will harass me because culture

i'm tired of my people getting shot
i'm tired of these people saying things
of these people who take my culture as a joke,
as an ornament to hang around their necks
they hang my people with no remorse or guilt either
i'm tired of these same people who took this land from my ancestors,
claiming it as their own and corrupting it with the promise of 'freedom'

but what's the promise of freedom when who came to us in need;
from their homes we destroyed
we bluntly ignored those who trusted us?
what's the promise of freedom when we send those who came to our land in hopes of a better future and a better life—
and sending them back to the hell they escaped?

that is no freedom.