South junior, Isa Sánchez writes a heart wrenching poem about being Black in America
March 4, 2021
Isa Sánchez, a Westerville South junior wrote this poem on May 28th, 2020.
I think I speak for all of us when i say
I am sick and tired of being sick and tired
Aren’t you? Are you tired?
Do you feel like you’ve run a marathon?
Do you feel like the tide just keeps coming in?
Do you feel a fire within your chest that pushes you to be angry?
Why aren’t you angry?
“It doesn’t affect me” “ugh can’t relate”
While we die in the streets the authorities sit back and celebrate
“Whew dodged a bullet there” “ha but he didn’t!”
We tried to stay peaceful through all the belligerence
I can’t buy skittles
I can’t go on a run
I can’t walk in my backyard
I can’t sit in my own home
I can’t write a check
I can’t do a damn thing, can I?
When I walk down the street, I don’t just look both ways
I look left, right, up, down, behind me and sideways
My senses are heightened, yours can’t compare
Because I have to be alert whenever I go anywhere
Living life while Black is nothing short of a sport
Living life while Black, you know nothing of the sort
We have been conditioned to be scared and live in fear
But I don’t want to see another mother shed one more tear
This anger, this hurt, this pain, it’s all boiling over
They’ve been drunk off their power, so let’s get em sober
I can’t go one block without seeing a blue lives matter flag
While blue lives use our black men as punching bags
I didn’t preach ACAB because it felt like a little much
But seeing our young men and women die in the streets is also a little much
Sure, you can post on your story about how sad this makes you
But 24 hours later, will it still affect you?
Huh, probably not, this world man, it’s crazy
Quick question, does your president still think we’re lazy?
We’re not!
We’re tired, like we said before
We see these headlines and it hurts us to our core
Because I’m terrified that one day i’ll know the name that sits at the top of the page
That’s when this anger will turn into straight rage
So until the cops that kill are in prison and not just fired
We will scream, shout, and fight
Because we are sick and tired!
Sánchez said, “For years and years, poetry has been my way of expressing myself when I don’t know how. After the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, I couldn’t keep my emotions in. I let that all out in my poem!”
Sánchez said the process of writing the piece came very easily to her. “I wrote 5.28.20 in one sitting, and it only took about 30 minutes.”
Sánchez said this is what she hopes people will take from the poem, “I hope people feel the emotion and can maybe get a better understanding of how it feels to be a Black kid in America.”
This Summer, Sánchez performed this poem at different Black Lives Matter protests and gatherings throughout Westerville and Columbus.