Featured image: “Flowers Forced to Bloom” (drawing) by Haley Alvarado
“The American Truth” by Ayasha Cantey
For as long
as I can remember,
I was taught to
Look up to authority
The police are supposed to be heroes.
They come to save you
They protect you
Supposedly they care.
For years,
I have realized
my color is a curse
I’m black
So first,
I am a threat
Then a victim
Just like Khalil
A brush and a gun
he was eighteen,
He was young;
the money he made, had him sprung.
Always called a hustler,
He dealt to all
his customers.
Never once called his name “it was a close aim”
They want us all
to believe,
that he wouldn’t achieve.
Do you know the truth?
