Life's Matters - A Poem
Dedicated to the memory of a generation of lost souls trying to find our way back.
Life's Matters
This is not about race, but about the races.
Souls in stasis, Beat faces, twisted social graces and excuses
Everyday the ancestors screaming “you ain’t dreaming”,
But you beauties sleeping, creeping,
In the devils sh!t,
Smeared so thick, you believe in it
And they’re relentless on repeat,
Business reaping souls is no mean feat
So colors trends friends and likes
A barrage of lies to bend the psyche
Blurred lines between the wrongs and your rights
Oh how in these times the day escapes the night
At least that’s what they’d have us believe
Weak, soulless, lost leaders have us to deceive
What a tangled web we weave
What a legacy we leave
Now, we race to riot in the streets
“Blacklives matter!” we entreat
“Blacklives matter!” they repeat
Oh how the sheeple bleat
A different melody today
From the vows made yesterday.
Before life got so dread,
They said
“Inject us
So we don’t become infectious.
Please take our cash for stuff, things, goods
Please send it to our neighborhood
We’ll eat sh!t from people who refuse their own food
And pose our women in the nude
Let our daughters wear your hair
Bleach their skin so they’re more fair
Than they were born
Let our sons themselves adorn,
And the selfie to adore,
And the mirror they pose before
Each uniquely and differently
In the same style gear as he
In the same haircut as me
Striking the same pose as she
Wearing the same clothes as we

One swallow does not make a summer, neither does one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy. - Aristotle
Art & Lens Barbados
We will let go, let your matrix do its thing
We prefer not to think, so
We’ll talk and eat and drink what you tell us
We’ll walk and deal and steal like you taught us
We’ll ply and lie with smiles when they’ve caught us
And you make an example of us cos you wrought us
To hold on at all costs to the likes, the friends
The image the trends
Of making a movie of our ends
A knee on our neck surrounded by friends
Holding the camera watching the action
And shouting words of direction
All sinners not one stone cast
Not a bottle, nor piece a glass
Not one in the crowd to rush their ass
Try to strike a blow, duck and pass
Now you think you’ve been awakened
You are so mistaken
Gil Scott Heron said it wise
This will not be televised
So stop watching.
Start thinking
For yourself
Take the grey matter off the shelf
Unplug yourself, detatch, debug
Because as long as you’re inert in the hug
Of the matrix
You will never fix
Our lives mattered since ever since b
When our ancestry took gifts for our slavery
when we watched and heard and saw us get beat
And kept working and smiled as they tried to defeat
Us, Just so we keep collecting a wage
We let go and let them manage
Our hair, health, wealth and complexion
Spit in god face wrong direction
Now we hate ourselves from the inside out
Too blind to ask what that’s about
Meantime we stayed resolute in our cause
Side stepping our efforts to give us pause
No! You pause! With your idle chatter
We live and we know that our lives matter
Comments
Toni Newton (author) from Barbados, W.I. on January 17, 2021:
Wow. You gentlemen are so generous. Thank you so much for your comments. I am new to this world, so I am very humbled by your attention.
This piece is kinda heavy for some...but writing it helped me a great deal and I am hoping that it will inspire some of us separate from this toxic place we're in today.
John Hansen from Queensland Australia on January 17, 2021:
What a powerful piece of poetry, Toni. Sounded like the best rap song I have ever heard in my head. You certainly have a way with words and for getting a point across. Loved it.
manatita44 from london on January 17, 2021:
Just so you know, I go to about 20 different Zoom poetry events. There's one called Grassroots (On Facebook), where your poetry would go down very well, as there's a lot of social justice in it.
Zoom you can do, in the comfort of your home. In fact I have 3 this week and if you are interested, I can give you details.
Your poetry is beautiful and exquisite, but it's what I did a long time ago. Now I return to them for Slams (Poetry competitions) or Black History Month.
We may still be able to work together though, I need to bring out my book called 'Blossoms of The Heart and from your bio, you have strengths I lack. A pleasure to meet another fellow West Indian. Much Love.