A poem by Frances Roberts inspired by place cards at the BLM protest in Bristol.
You cannot enjoy the rhythm but ignore the blues
You cannot appreciate black culture but not black lives
I see you, I hear you, I stand with you,
Well 2m apart
At an appropriate social distance
But Stand for something or fall for anything
Boris Johnson Doesn’t care about Black people
a racist cunt
And trump has a tiny knob
Wash your hands of racist bigotry you detty pigs
Rashan Charles
Mark Duggan
Classen Lewis
How many more more innocent black men will die at the hands of police?
How many names are there that weren’t filmed
Disappearing into the depths of a forgotten past
Never to be uttered
Silence is violence
Emptiness speaks
Protesters in PPE
Exhale heavy under a cotton cover
It’s harder to breathe
I can’t breathe
WE CAN’T BREATHE
Racism is a pandemic
BAME communities disproportionately dying from this virus, systemic
If you’re not angry, you’re not listening
You’re probably white
Some have the authority to kill a minority!
And you chose to echo the status quo
The view of a blind majority
Colour is not a crime
I see no changes, all I see is racist faces