“black lives matter”
Alliyah Nkrumah 

say their names
because their life being taken was no game.
so say their names loud and clear
say it so that maybe one day we won’t have to live in constant fear.
breonna taylor is a name you shouldn’t forget,
she was sleeping in bed when she was shot eight times; definitely not a threat.
don’t forget about george floyd whose neck was crushed,
and how the police department loves to keep matters like this hushed.
remember trayvon martin whose killer got off free
not to mention the father and son who murdered ahmaud abery
so many have said they could not breathe: eric garner and freddie gray,
martin lee anderson didn’t even see his graduation day.
the untimely and unfortunate death of kalief browder.
say their names louder.
james byrd Jr. was dragged from a pickup truck,
it sickens me to see how many people just don’t give a fuck.
like many others, rekia boyd was unarmed when shot.
it’s a joke that a police officer only got twenty years for shooting walter scott.
ezell ford had mental problems but still got shot multiple times,
sometimes the murderers aren’t even charged for their horrendous crimes.
the 16th street baptist church fire claimed four innocent lives.
natsaha mckenna and renisha mcbride are two women who will never get to be wives.
remember the man who was shot fifty-five times: willie mccoy,
and emmett till who was still just a boy.
tony mcdade, a transgender man.
he was held down and shot: oscar grant.
tamir rice was a twelve year old having fun,
botham jean was in his own apartment before being shot with an off-duty police gun.
philando castile was with his family when he was shot seven times in the car
aiyana jones at seven was one of the youngest by far,
amadou diallo shot at forty-one times in the early hours of dawn.
please recall kendrick johnson whose death was ‘accidental’ but found with organs gone. 
there’s so many more names we need to remember,
forever and always; every year; all the way through, we remember.