It didn’t have to go this way

we have seen too much red, we do not know blood
our blades are too sharp our necks aren’t guaranteed
we keep praying that our words become a flood.

for how long do we keep kneeling till we bleed?
there’s a cat in the house, and no bell in sight
maybe we are suffering from a misdeed.

we can keep singing “it will all be alright”
till the rhythm and blues fall off with our head
nothing changes of a sudden overnight.

it should never loosen like this; our lives’ thread
but with fire burning slowly, our wax will thaw
and the pain on our lip will be left unread.

everyday brings something that leaves us in awe
there’s a type of poison we can’t fight with law.

Victor Oyedele