[no child should have to write goodbye]

a black boy

ended his own breathing today

because the world kept telling him

in a thousand quiet ways

that his life was extra,

that his joy was optional,

that his staying

was not required.

___

his note said

no one would miss him.

america has been training our children

to believe that lie

with empty schools,

with crowded jails,

with news that treats our deaths

like background noise.

___

but we

we are not allowed

to be that cruel.

___

we are supposed

to be the ones

who call each other by name,

who answer every ache

with a hand,

a word,

a place to rest.

___

a child should grow old

enough to forget

what loneliness sounded like.

a child should live

long enough

to outgrow despair.

___

only men

heavy with stories

and finished with their work

should get to lay down

and close their eyes

without apology.

___

this boy

did not get that chance.

so now his silence

is shouting at us:

___

love each other

like survival.

remember each other

like breath.

do not let one more child

die thinking

they were never

supposed to be here.

©️MustafaSantiagoAli