underground cables compete
with high wires for miles
both carry love & hope
on the wings of childhood smiles

beautiful black women
side by side, they’ve endured much
smart & tactile women
now denied the magic of touch

2-dimensional images
perfect faces on small screens
cyberspace connections
each knows what the other means

“girl, stuff is so fucked up”
“you can’t make me wear this mask”
hey yo, can someone tell me
when our leaders will be called to task?

for the covid-19 numbers?
for racism that remains entrenched?
for the blood of black brothers ‘n sistas
in their blood this world has been drenched

this is a fight we must continue
we must ignore the political games
black, white, asian, polish
we all hafta say their names

‘s time to squash this mess
stand with us, please don’t quit
cause black lives still – they’ll always – matter
gauntlet’s been thrown: will you commit?

copyright © 2020 KPM