Melanated Trees and Muffled Screams

Life

Life is hard
Says the mother to her child, who is fighting back tears that have built up over the days, weeks, months
Harder than the slap given to a young black man from the police for utilizing his right to free speech
Harder than the gavel banging, sending an innocent person to jail for a time even the richest white man's Rolex can't tell
Harder than a scream coming from the throat of a girl who's body was violated in ways she can't even think about
Harder than the thoughts crashing down on what society today would call a "woke" individual on just how fucked up this world is
Today, someone said life was hard because they got a ticket for parking in the wrong place
Tomorrow someone will know life is hard because they were also in the wrong place, but instead of a ticket, they got a bullet
Yes, life is hard
Harder than the male member that over sexualizes a nice body
Harder than the metal surrounding the bullet that killed an innocent black man
Harder than the gazes received from a crowd as someone stands up for their rights
So follow suit, wipe that tear, pick yourself up, and be as hard as life wants you to be
Because haven't you heard?
That "hard" criminal that ruined someone's life, got the softest pat on the back