Melanated Trees and Muffled Screams

Black Paradise

The world is a canvas
The different shades of melanin are becoming alive as we're slowly finding our place
Our personalities are molding as they figure out how to translate our emotions
We are realizing that our anger is more than okay in response to the attempts to belittle us
As everyone who resides outside the lines of a melanin paradise tries to paint a wall between us
We push the limits of the box we're put in
Together we pick up a paintbrush and begin to draw a true picture of paradise
Black girls being loved, respected and viewed as the queens they are
Black boys being able to be sensitive
Anyone who is black being able to identify as something that isn't a boy or a girl and not get beaten or raped on a daily basis
A black person being able to walk outside or drive a car and not worry about being shot legally
Or maybe these things being considered and changed instead of turning the tables and ignoring the issues at hand
All these things are painted inside a sparkling enchanted forest
This forest holds everything that is hidden from society that no one wants to mention besides us
If a black person falls in this forest because of society
Do they make a sound?
Only we would know because we seem to be the only ones listening
And of course there are people who aren't in our forest who are willing to guard the outskirts
But after a while it isn't enough
There are more people trying to burn us down than water our roots
These people who have only watched from outside are the ones who think they know what goes on in our community
Some of us speak the way you call white
Some of us don't
And the only thing wrong is that the one you call white is what you also consider more educated
Our choice of tongue does not determine our level of intelligence
But it does determine yours
It determines your level to comprehend the depth within us
Our forest has more layers than a Bob Ross painting
Each layer contains voices wanting to be heard,
Causes that need to be seen,
And people that need to be taken seriously
This paintbrush we have held has now become our megaphone
Now we ask you,
If we shout what has tried to be covered up by white paint,
Will you hear us?