I Cannot Just

 

-For those whose eyes rest on the Congo. Special thank you to my muse @JJ_Bola.

I cannot just

Close my eyes

To the sight in front of me



I cannot just

Sail past the begging man

Asking for some spare change



I cannot just

Pretend that things are changing

Wars are still secret

Neighborhoods are changing

Changing like five ones

For a five dollar bill

Still

I notice

The white people from cross town

Are now the white people down the way

Will be the white people down the street

Eventually the white people down the block

While all the melanin leaves the neighborhood

Bit by bit



I cannot just-ify

The guilt I feel

When I hear my country

Being called to task

For murders of innocent lives

And for what I say

When does power

When does control

Mean more than a life

Mean more than lives



I cannot just

Forget what I know

Praying to God for a better day

For mercy on Judgment day

For those who care not

Who thought

Bloodshed in the darkness didn’t count





I cannot just

Hide from where I am from

Because those who lead that beautiful place

Think only of themselves

YES I AM UGANDAN

Despite who leads it

Despite who mistreats it

My ancestors’ bones will always rest there



I cannot just

Pick up a gun

And be an avenger

To defend the defenseless

As much as I want to



All I can do is pray

All I can do is write

All I can do is speak

For those souls

Who have no reason

To just die in vain

All I can do is say

FREE CONGO