*Reflections on election night

I think I made a mistake, y'all.
I think I failed to adequately show my rage for this racism that so many comfortably live with.
I made a mistake dishing out my heartbreak
in doses of tears instead of displays of anger.
I gave so much of me in ways you could consume
that when I showed up fully
I was unrecognizable.

Perhaps if I showed you the extent of my fury
you would see the depth of my grace
but I have been effectively trained
to protect your fragility.
White people, I am talking to you.
You who failed at collecting your people.
And I love you, I do.
Just not your whiteness
as it claims violence as inheritance
and God like a personal messiah.
Who were you before you were white?
Before you looted a continent of its people and then stripped their identity.

When you tell this election to your grandkids
do not skip over the fact Black people were called upon to try to correct a country that didn't want to save itself.
Do not forget that the burden of brutalization and the hope of redemption were cut from the same fabric as the flag and draped over the backs of a people meant to serve as a bridge over waters we did not trouble.