I wrote this poem months ago, to put into words the heartbreak I felt after a dear friend’s encounter with someone racist and the hurtful words they hurled at her. I wanted her to know I would always stand beside her, and use my voice to stand up for what was right whenever I could. I asked her permission to share the words I wrote for her here, and she granted it.

We will not stand silently by. We will rise up, speak out, and work on being actively antiracist every single day until our country has put measures into place to prevent anyone from suffering oppression. We cannot wait for oppression to happen in front of us to speak out any longer; it is happening every day, whether we are looking or not. So let us all rise together, work together, and create a world in which racism is only a tragic part of our history, and not a part of our present nor our future.

Let us all see the world as it could be, and do our best to make it so.

This poem is inspired by the scene from “Alice in Wonderland.” 

 

Paint the roses red

Paint the roses red

Never mind that they were white

Paint the roses red.

There will always be mad leaders

Telling us the roses were always red

Yet there will also be those who saw the rightful shade

And raise their voices to set things right.

Take your stand

Find your voice

Follow the truth

Speak up

Stand out

Do not let fear overshadow truth

Show the world the roses are white

Light will show these shadows are naught

Love will chase hate away.