“How much longer will this increasingly oppressive, unbearable weight press down on us?”

(Anne Frank’s Diary, 26 May 1944

How do we keep going when things drag us down?
How do we keep going when no one wants my race around.
How do we know when alone is too lonely,
How do we keep going if society is the bully…….

I’m running out of time like the tears run down my face,
I look to the world and see pure disgrace.
All we ever wanted was to be some you cared for,
Your support and trust is all we ever asked for.

We’ve been beaten, we’ve been bruised but you only see us smiling,
But you’ll never realise that we’re slowly dying.
We fixed you while we were broken but it’s never been enough,
I wish someone had told me that water is thicker than blood.

How do we keep walking when our legs become sore?
How do we keep going when we don’t want to anymore.
How do we keep going when our freedom becomes fake,
How do we keep going when our lives are what you take…..

Your fists won’t hurt us ‘cos your tongue is the dagger,
We take all the racism and say “it doesn’t matter”.
Your words are a seed they grow in our brain,
They haunt us in our sleep and drive us insane.

If our tears were a river we could cry you a sea,
But if I asked for a rock would you bring it to me?
Trust me we knew it wouldn’t last forever,
Cos you made them believe you’re the man, we are the monster.

How do we keep going if we are walking out of sight?
How do we know when to give up the fight.
How can we tell when it’s becoming a waste of time,
How can I let go when my rights were once mine….

I won’t beg for your love, won’t beg for your mercy,
I just want you to know that your words can truly hurt me!

By CHANEY, 15.

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