Another death,

Another dearly departed friend,

Another memory where a comrade once stood.

Another breath,

When will it end?

Why I’m still here, I’ve never understood.

Why this time?

Lack of healthcare?

Overdose? Hate crime?

Refusal to share?

Beaten by police?

Choked or shot?

Or maybe just left

In prison to rot?

The questions dance through my mind.

Yet no answers satisfy the why.

More friends lost

Than years gone by.

Hands tremble, tears refuse to fall.

Dead inside, lonely and forgotten,

Broken, beaten by grief of it all,

And all the pain this life’s begotten.

But the rage,

The fire inside,

Keeps me burning

In this worn hide.

No longer for myself,

At the end of that rope,

But guided by a mixture of vengence

And…hope?

Can we win?

Is there a chance?

Left without answers I venture on.

Wishing to create a world

Where evil is gone.

Where others don’t have to suffer

As I have,

As I continue to.

That rage,

Impulsive and reckless,

Still pushes me through.

Driven to fight

With fists and spite

But also with strategy and wit.

Long past time to fix this shit.

Urging to burn it all to the ground,

Dance among the flames,

That sweet crackling sound.

But also wishing to build anew.

A fresh start,

New morning dew.

For every breath I take,

All the progress we make,

Spits in the face of our oppressors

And honors the sprits of long lost friends.