Death, No More!

Walking out the door, I’m afraid

Afraid that I might not make it back home

To my mother, father, brothers, sisters

Afraid that they won’t be able to see my lively face

But a face that is as dark and dead as my ancestors before me

Why must I feel the goosebumps of Death on my shoulder

He says, “It won’t be long now, my child”

“What do you mean?”, I reply back

Although already knowing what might be my fate

“Oh come on. You didn’t really expect to live that long, now did you?”

“All of your people have to disappear for the world to be great again”

I noticed how he grimaced, while referring to my kind,

Like it was some kind of poison on his tongue

I run around the corner, hoping to escape him

But it seems that fate isn’t on my side

For there he is with his scythe

I thought that the end was coming for me but then I saw them

Rosa, King, Harriet, Sojourner, Frederick

All the ones that fought Death and made our people proud

They may not have made it out alive

But their braveness and passion is unforgettable

“Fight, my child!”, they say

And I can feel their strength coursing through my veins

“You think they can save you!”, says Death

“They are DEAD!”

I replied back, “They may be dead to you but they live on in our history,

In my life.”

                            -Lorsh Alexandre