Creative Commons License

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.

Photo by Christopher Etienne/Cynematic Productions

Damn
whatz going on around us
This world
what is it coming to
Is Jesus somewhere in the midst of us
Seven
Not one
But seven shots to the back
Intention was to kill
Tell me you can’t see
Breonna Taylor in tears
causing more marches, looting, rallies
clashes and violence
so far
the only good that came from this one
Jacob Blake is still breathing
from my elbows to my knuckles
I feel like throwing something
but I’ll just grip my pen
A little bit tighter with this one
Black Lives Matter
but to what degree
does it matter
when we riot and loot
burning down and tearing up
our very own communities
Does it matter
when we have the opportunity
to change who sits in the Oval Office
but we as a nation of people
African Americans
we don’t get out and vote
sad to say
but a prison cell
just may be safer than those streets…

Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.

Sweet is an African-American writer from the Midwest, currently incarcerated in Oregon. He was inspired by poetry, word play and metaphors at an early age but only started crafting his writing in prison.