operating system

is it just a quirk
in the system
that those who are dying

on the frontlines of injustice
across our country
are mostly black and brown?

or is it built into
the system to 
oppress those with skin tones

darker than the colonizers who
stole this land?
I'll say: it's no quirk.




--
April PAD - Poetic Asides Day 22: quirk

Foxy lady

You do not seek
to see behind
my mask
of timid refinement

You do not see
how I slink
unseen
into the background

You cannot hear
the faint pant
of anxious breath
trapped in this cage

You wear me around
your neck
a fine catch
to show your friends



April PAD #26 - animal