Poem: Why I Say We

"Why I Say We" by Robyn Hammontree

i will use the word we

when i speak of our misdeeds

our roots intertwined as seeds

of the american dream

i will take credit for

the atrocities we commit

the bullets we let slip from clips

saying nothing

i will say it was

we the people

who allowed this evil

who did something

by doing nothing

kept calm and carried on

like these weren't our sons

dying

this is

our racism our sexism our transphobia

killing people

it does not belong to someone else

we must

hold the weight of it in our hands

recognize the blood on our lands

and make plans to change it

to look in mirrors we don't want to

sort through what's true

deep down

to change us

admit it's

all from ourselves

to save us

all from ourselves