Silent Storm

That monument is not a table.

It’s not your chair 

or your resting place. 

I know my ancestors bodies were used violently,

as our black bodies are used now,

but your bones have not felt the tired 

we are all born with… 

we know this pain well.

So I know you aren’t letting your kids stand on it.

Teaching them that anything can be below them,

that they don’t ever have to question what or who is beneath them.

Oh, that somehow they must have earned it!

Privilege is having even your monuments stand tall 

When others just get a slab people mistake as piece of furniture 

We are not just ornaments 

That you can use at your leisure 

Ignored, invisible, and mistaken.

This campus was built on our ancestors backs

And we will not stand for the disrespect of you sitting