Matthew 7:13
The chorus of angelic activists, clothed in white, proclaim,
“Black Lives Matter”.
Their voices, heaven-rending, are melodious, tantalizing.
I learned in the Lord’s book of Matthew,
That these fleece-white promises are blacker than the lives they advocate for.
Alabaster allies, crafty canines, hop out of the fire to sing, to say,
“Black Lives Matter”.
As if a truism is more practice than preach
As if their realization is tantamount to black liberation
Their words are clouds of convoluted cotton candy, sweet and nothing
They believe the shackles have been loosened through the whispering waves of the ever-resounding gong,
“Black Lives Matter”.
Wandering souls walk wistfully by, woefully worried of all the wrong things.
The sandy expanse travels forever
The reverberant phrase whips around the dunes—
“Black Lives Matter”
The conflagration of scorching sands set my mind ablaze
Until
The shimmering water glistens as the oasis peeks, then shines
Over the horizon
I kneel over the cold, liquid refreshment
My hand feels the cool water beside the warmth of my mirrored hand
And my blankness meets my darkness over the dewy, glistening edges of heaven
The rumble of water transfigures
“Oh, Tantalus!
How presumptuous to believe that relief is your birthright.
You cry for help,
Yet the cure stays ever-present and ever out of your reach.
No one can hear you, Negro Narcissus. You remain your only respite.”
The vicious whipcrack of the voice tosses me back into my gritty grave.
As the hourglass sands pour over my eyes, I hold fast to myself.
No one has come.
Faith without works.
“Black Lives Matter”
And no one will.