September 4th, 2020
Crown
5:45 am
The sheets still whisper
Stay in bed
Stay in bed
The alarm drowns out the whispers
Forcing them to quiet down
Into
Nothing.
6:00 am
My eyes widen at the bright lights
Wash
Wash
Wash
Clean
Brush
Brush
Brush
Hurry up!
8:30 am
Late
Again
But wait
Because of the Virus
We won’t have school on Friday
Yay?
Stay Home
Online
Learning?
Closed schools
Stores
Restaurants
Your sound is choppy
I can’t hear you
Your internet may not be working
Speak louder!
What…
Mask! Mask!
Gloves! Gloves!
Soap! Soap!
7:00 pm
Clap
Clap
Clap
George Floyd suffocated to death by police
Breonna Taylor killed in her home by police
Ahmaud Arbery killed on video by two white men while jogging
If you are Black
Are you a criminal?
Riot
Protest
Looting
Death.
Class tomorrow!
Essay due tomorrow!
My head hurts
Too much pressure
Too much stress
I feel
Sick
Empty
Sad
Stressed
Oppressed
Segregated
Socially Isolated
Tired
Of
All
This
Racism
Hidden
Between the words of a school
Between the lips of a principle
Between the hands of police
Inside of the gun that shot my brothers and sisters
Out of the mouth of that president
Out of my own people
So pressured to be what they think is beautiful
What they think is safe
What they think is good
Are my words not enough
Are my thoughts not enough
Do you only see my color
Do you only hear my screams
Do you want me to be
Silent.
Would you rather me agree with each
And
Every
Single
Lie we are fed
We feed to our children
We feed to ourselves
Would you?
Or would you rather kick it out
Me
Out
Crown
Will you polish it for me?
Or will you steal it before I even have the chance to
Touch
My culture
You are silent
You fight for passes
For language our people made
You fight for hairstyles
You fight for men
You steal
You fight for appearances
You fight for everything but our lives
You think we don’t notice
Are we animals to you?
Do
You
Want
To
Know.
Silence
I guess I am finished
I must’ve spoke to much truth
It will never be enough to change this country
But it’s enough for your ignorant ears
You call us animals
But what are you?
Sahvanna Nunez is in the 8th grade and she has a love for art, music, and poetry. Poems make her feel like she is in a different world, somewhere more quiet.
Sahvanna wrote this piece because she felt the need to let out some of the emotions she had during quarantine. Putting all her emotions into a poem really helped ger go to that quiet place she’s always loved.