I can’t  breathe! I can’t breathe...
I don’t want to die like this!  
The strangling, the struggling...when they slammed them over, 
The fear that pulsated because I was guilty for my skin colour?
I thought in my head - Oh God! Was my life over?
Guilty for skittles, must have thought Trayvon Martin,
this was the reason why his life had ended 
Couldn’t wear a hoodie without looking guilty,
was how black lives ended from police brutality? 
Remember the names George Floyd, Breonna Taylor?
A strong woman of colour, who was killed in her home.
Remember George floyd who was slammed onto stone,
who was suffocated and killed by the officers, alone. 
He begged them to stop he pleaded he was innocent...
that went over their heads the racism was evident. 
The voices of Aura Roser, Stephen Clark, Atatiana Jefferson, so many others...
Should not be subsided, should be louder and vibrant 
All lives matter some like to say; truth be told it’s never been that way. 
So it’s time to stand up, and these are the words to utter, 
Black lives should be valued and unequivocally matter!

Author: Sana Haidary, 14, American Embassy School, New Delhi