If I: Watch Prince Amoako's plaintive cry for Black lives in the face of endless injustice
'I know the colour of my skin reflects the moon, but doesn't reflect bullets '
"Seeing the injustice happening over the past couple years, starting with Trayvon [Martin], Eric Garner, all those individuals, just really inspired me to write something," Toronto poet and performer at R.I.S.E Edutainment Prince Amoako says about the genesis of his poem If I.
"Because I feel like I connected with them on some kind of level — cause that could be me, right?"
Watch Prince Amoako perform If I:
As the world around us grows more and more uncertain, eight young poets speak their truth in the third season of the CBC Arts series Poetic License. Watch all eight performances now and read Prince Amokao's poem below.
I watched them try to Colonize
Colin Kaepernick
But couldn't take his shit from him
Cause what he knelt for will always be greater than what you stood for
North America will never be great again
Tell your mama
Tell your friends
That the Reaper is coming
Little by little
We're solving this riddle
Our future is brittle
The Grim Reaper took my soul when the man who killed me got acquitted
Ain't nothing new
Except for the facts I've been telling you
I know the colour of my skin reflects the moon
But doesn't reflect bullets
Because my melanin ain't Black Panther vibranium bulletproof
But when I die, I'll still shout Wakanda forever
Forever and ever...Amen
Black Lives Matter
I watched a young Black boy
Bleed out the scriptures, his mama once whispered in his ear
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper"
Then mama...
Why was the white man's Cain Abel to beat me down
And the life of my blood making no sound to heaven
While my blood danced and maneuvered through the cracks and pebbles on the ground...
As I watched lifelessly...
What a sight to see
My mama screaming in the streets
Young Black boys, please don't drive cars with your families...
Rest in peace Philando Castile
Young Black boys, aim for the stars but don't get caught under them
That's when the police will beat you like Rodney King
Cause at night...is when men and officers turn beast
But mama didn't know getting caught at night now is obsolete
Because they can kill us in broad daylight with our hands behind our backs
Face down constantly screaming,
"I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't"
Rest in peace Eric Garner
But officer...I can see your intentions
Your heart is filled with melanin because you're just as dark as me
And even though this city was built off the backs of my ancestors
There is no need to walk all over my back literally
I have a mother, a father, a brother, a sister
who are all home right now waiting for — BOW!
Mama, I watched them kill one of my brothers
And put him in the dirt...
And I know you said no weapon formed against me shall prosper
But mama, I really don't want to get hurt
Just maybe, just maybe, mama, "No weapon formed against me shall not prosper"
Is only true
If...I...shoot...first
