Performed by Allison Kampf
black night sky {genre: fear}
paula shaffer
there is a fear my son will die today
because his skin is black as night
black night sky
that darker fear that whites so dread;
how dare my son dare to breathe,
dare to live
reach for the sky
play by the rules so self-confined;
the “talk” is clear as constant rain,
that reminder of fear each time you leave
your brown skin marked as sin
auto-rejected from the day of birth
your dark skin the color of Earth
i grieve for you with constant fear,
i cry for you when you leave,
i apologize for those ugly clouds
that rue your day, existence’s theme
racism so deep, it never bends
its darkness cast because of skin
i grieve for sons who won’t come home,
laid to rest in a pit of degrade
civil unrest because of skin
unleashes fear you won’t obey
and one more black boy dies today
his last words: i can’t breathe