Last week was one of the worst weeks that I can remember in a long time in America. And tomorrow it will be a month since the Orlando Pulse shooting. I don’t have the words to describe how I’m feeling really except the poem I sat down to write Friday night as a summary of what’s going on. So, for now, I’ll share that again. The world seems so chaotic right now, and I wish I could make it all stop. It’s probably best though, that I listen in the midst of the chaos and try to stand together with those who are hurting so much more than I am and are more deeply affected by the tragedies of the past week.

Privilege.

seeing the world is on fire

and as the flames climb

higher and higher

we pretend we can’t even smell the smoke

the world is on fire

and we’ve built a funeral pyre

we sit atop it and watch the world burn

the world is on fire

and we assume because we have power

we can fan the flames of fear

the world is on fire

and it burns and burns and burns

we’re all on fire

and we yearn and yearn and yearn

for someone to quench the flames

to stay the hand of violence

but yet we choose to sit in silence

and watch the world ablaze with injustice

we’re all on fire

and we still haven’t learned

that we’re the ones that struck the match

we’re the ones who warm our hands over the fire

as others die because of our privilege— and our hate

maybe it’s not to late

but shots were fired

in the name of whiteness

we pronounced ourselves just

that those whose lives ended at the barrel of a gun

are not our son, daughter, father, mother

so, we take cover with our bullet proof supremacy

our lives aren’t in danger, you see,

every day, every hour someone dies because of our power

and we say it had nothing to do with us

it’s us vs. them

and until it’s all of us together as one

until we undo what we’ve constantly undone

because if it’s not justice and liberty for all

then it won’t be for anyone

we will continue to say black lives matter

because right now all lives don’t matter

until we can walk hand in hand, side by side

no one is free from the tyranny

tyranny caused by walking on the backs of those

who don’t look like us

#AltonSterling #PhilandoCastile #TrayvonMartin #EricGarner #SandraBland #MichaelBrown #EmmettTill #SayTheirNames #BlackLivesMatter