I can’t breathe
By Mary F. Lenox
I can’t breathe
the words said
written on a waste container
near the sidewalk
I wondered what other
unheard voices say
I can’t breathe
Dying fish of the sea
echo
I can’t breathe
as they
navigate through
plastic and oil invaders
Birds
call out
through polluted air
I can’t breathe
Children playing
in urban streets
for lack of space elsewhere
I can’t breathe
Rivers and streams
full of sewage from earthlings
scream
I can’t breathe
Shouting voices of people of color
grieving for relief
from all the ways oppressors
have tried to kill, destroy, eliminate
I can’t breathe
Yet
young and old around the world march and proclaim
No more!
We will not stand silently by
hearing those words
I can’t breathe
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Mary F. Lenox is a poet, writer, speaker, and educator. She was a professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia in the School of Library and Information Science where she served as dean for 12 years. She is the author of two books of poetry, Threads of Grace: Selected Poems (2015) and Riches of Life: Poems (2019). She resides in San Diego, California.
Photo credit: Tyler Merbler via a Creative Commons license.