#poemsofpresence we fill our poems with trees and birds rarely do we atone for screams of, "I can't breathe" sheltering stanzas of cultural melanism g

#poemsofpresence
we
fill our poems
with trees and birds
rarely do we atone
for screams of,
  "I can't breathe"
sheltering stanzas
of cultural melanism
getting darker
     sung on
songs of the first griot
Our presence isn't a crime
but our silence is