I hear the mother's and father’s cries in my sleep 
A collective memory 
A heartbeat we all felt until it stopped
I feel their pain in my gut like I lost my son
Hold him just a little tighter 
And pray over him just a little more
Warning him about the rules: 
We don't go unless there's two
Someone gotta look like you
Reminding white mothers that they can't take ours 
Unless they understand what they are taking on
I can't release my heart to you 
If you won't hold it with two hands
I don't want to risk it 
Don't want to miss him
Don't want to wonder how and why 
Don't want to have to fight to figure out 
What happened to his life


We feel it as a community
Brown skin tying us together in shared experiences 
It's why I can say "God is Good" 
And I know you'll say "All the time" 
It’s the knowing that a beat can have us 
All on the same rhythm 
It’s the knowledge that if I see you running in fear 
I should too
It’s going in your kitchen cabinets and finding  
Lawry’s, garlic, and onion powder
It’s the silent conversations we have 
When certain people in the room
It’s a Mandela effect 
Only we get 
It’s what lets us feel the fear for our babies
And we view them all as ours
Because until they can understand the ties that bind
We have to protect their innocent minds
We stand ten toes down at pools when mamas busy
And Becky thinks she can interrogate kids
I don't have to tell you where I live
Cause you can't big bully babies who are playing
We show up and show out when we hear justice ain't around
Boycotting stores until there's tumbleweed
Shouting until our voices escape us

We are Elegba and Oshun 
We are God in the room
We are a community with so much love
Shrouded in a world that can't steal us 
And that pisses them off
Even in chains
We had the range 
Heard the hymns of our ancestors in the fields
Anger bubbling and brewing cause we find the beauty
We are exhausted from the fight 
Still we persist 
Feeling that singular heartbeat that flows 
Through everyone with a drop of black in their blood
We produce joy together and experience the same pain
It’s a mutual bond that does not have a definition 
It can not be explained
Just felt deep in our DNA
This bond was bestowed 
By the skin I was given 
A blessing that I was destined for by birth
But it also means I feel the hurt 
I could cry about it 
Sometimes I do 
But even if I never see its end 
I still got work to do