Open Eyes (For Trayvon Martin)

Open Eyes (For Trayvon Martin)

“These Dreams” they say

“Will not”

“By YOU-

Cannot

Be realized”

Their words, their looks,

Have taught me

The realest these dreams can be

will only come with closed eyes

See in sleep, in daze,

when I check out from reality

I move beyond what they say is all

I’ll ever amount to be

I’m everything I want to be, I’m free to be.

But with my eyes wide open all around,

Are young brothers and sisters like me

Without enough attention

Thrown in detentions, prescriptions, suspension,

Until the world only makes mention

Of brown skin behind bars

On corners of streets

Babies having babies and bloodshed at our feet

We were born into this hood,

Bred and beat in homes made no good,

Not fit

Not suited to live

Where struggle is written in the stars

and planets align

To sketch out what runs through

in the flow of our bloodline

We connect, from shackles, to cuffs

To writs that are cut

We bleed so we can live

and so others can live,

so the white man can live

On this land they’ve made their land,

not your land or my land

Although we work and labor it

and don't get enough pay to live for it

The books still say so

The dollars say so

They run us, they rule us …

so they say so

Because here a cover is judged

and privilege can’t look past what they see

We can’t even walk down the street

Without being suspect

And with a raise of a hand

their expectations are met

That we're violent,

we're drugged up,

its fucked up

And made even worse 'cause

we got a hoodie on?

Turn the corner with a blink and

brown brother, sister

is gone

Self defense, don’t make sense

See, he asked for it

And, she asked for it

And they asked for it

So it’s no question- Just,

Don’t question, Just,

Don’t mention, Just-ice

Serving us and our dreams

We’re still seeking plea bargains,

second chances,

serving hard time

Because the same people who

set the punishment

are making up the crimes

Even our black president’s outer tone has shown us

That there is still no real change..

Our dreams are only as light as our skin is these days

our dreams are still locked up in chains…

So just how can our youth ever rise

the moment they fly, they're shot down

and fall toward reality

And with open eyes

their dreams just die…