They fought and they prayed and they cried and they woke
to reality – in which they saw fragility yet malleability
a road they could pave
a future with no slaves
a fight made for the brave
those chains of hate break
as night goes to day
the people start to awake
and they see their pain and listen to what they say
“America!” They say
“The world renowned States”
“The land of the free and home of the brave!”
“Free us from restraint, the injustices we’ve faced”

A response:
“Injustice, restraint where?”
“Oh that, distant in all those years…”
“It’s just a lesson learned there! No-harm-no-foul, anyway!”-
For history is erased
when the survivors don’t have a face

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Mihesh Bhadwandin was one of three winners of the SHS Black History Month poem/essay contest.