I was born here, 
An unfortunate stroke.
America is nothing but a practical joke,
In which if I spoke, I might be shot within a minute. 
God forbid I don’t follow suite…
What will happen to me in this world?
‘Merica, a mistake in the making. 
Gentrifying neighborhoods.
Planting drugs in my community. 
Whatever happened to our “equal opportunity?”
Or did we lose that the second we “earned it?”
Tell me how you have to earn what is yours in the first place.  
Killing our youth. 
Speaking everything but the truth to push us in the voting booths.
What do you want me to vote for?
The lesser of two evils?
Is that even legal, to vote for someone who speaks lies about freedom?
I am torn.
For do I use this vote my ancestors fought for, oh if they only knew.
In times like this I get on my knees and tell them to come through!
They kill us all.
Let us fall…
Make us feel small. 
They want us to feel like we have to look out for ourselves and let them go on with the free fall. 
The killing of all. 
For I wonder when the police officers are going to get a recall, 
because I think they are broken. 
They are murdering instead of catching the murderers. 
What do we do?
When will we ever have a breakthrough?
When will we ever have our debut of freedom?
All this marching and protesting is like deja vu…
These ways are tried and true.
I feel like I’m in a library, as our freedom is overdue. 
But what fine will we have to pay?
1 life. 2 lives. 3 lives. 4?
Don’t you dare ignore. 
For we are in the greatest war. 
I cannot take this anymore. 
You either stand for or you stand for nothing.
I feel as if I am caught between a trap door. 
Oh wait. 
I am. 
The place I claim as home. 
It’s disgusting. 
When did we ever live in a world so distrusting.
Do you know if something can be unclaimed?
For this world I live in is a great shame. 
Took us from Africa, for what? 
Just to claim.
To tame a flame in the making. 
I wonder why America is so filled with evil, but who’s to blame? 
Would anyone care to proclaim? 
Maybe a last name. 
Are we just your insurance claim?
As we have wrecked many times, that bill must be high. 
I was born here, 
An unfortunate stroke. 

Trinity, 13, is homeschooled and participated in the most recent Atlanta Word Works open mic. 

The next free Atlanta Word Works workshops are:

Sat. Nov. 19 2-4 p.m. and Thursday, Dec. 8, 5-7 p.m. Both are at VOX, and Atlanta-area teens are invited. Click here to register.