i am alive but still cannot freely breathe

Dear All Ethan Chalks,

When I took my daughter to the beach on 5/16/20 to play, to be FREE

To be ONE with the sand, sun, and SEA

The day started off so beautiful, so serene

The sound of our laughter as loud and strong as the rolling waves

The warmth of the sun embracing the beautiful shades of brown on our skin

The smooth peach palms of our hands

A mother and daughter adding a splash of color to the off-white sand

Breaking the chains of quarantine, dancing in the invisible cool drops of rain

The breeze so soothing, the air refreshing, the kind everyone yearns to daily BREATHE

I told my daughter that morning, “This is a weekend we will NOT sleep in!”

We’d don our homemade masks and hold each other’s 99.9% sanitized hands

Together, 6 feet apart from others, we walked across that expanse of warm sun-kissed sand

The ocean was calling us with a welcoming SPLASH

But after hours of singing, dancing, laughter and play--- an UNWELCOME WAVE

A very UN-expectant, very strong and ugly CLASH

A hand on my arm, a forceful drag, a face WITHOUT a MASK

Dear ETHAN CHALK,

You did not kill me, I didn’t die, but just so you know--- something precious and innocent

An inner peace within my heart and soul vanquished and did DIE

But in light of recent events, I’m grateful to at least still have my LIFE

But what is life if one cannot fully, freely BREATHE?

What is life if I see you but you REFUSE to see me?

What is life if I SPEAK UP but you turn my volume DOWN?

With a smirk and flick of your finger, you put me on MUTE and shut me DOWN?

Yes, I am alive, but I still cannot freely BREATHE, I am alive but do not feel completely FREE

Free to simply BE ME

I am alive, Ethan Chalk, but like many of my Brothers and Sisters

WE

STILL

CANNOT

BREATHE

Yes, we still inhale, exhale, try to just survive and safely just BE

Unlike sadly others whose lives were cut so short, by a fatal bullet, a chokehold, a KNEE

Yes, technically, yes—we technically CAN still BREATHE, a simple fact I cannot refute nor fight

But it does not feel like freedom, much less a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT

The line between life and death is very thin, especially when walking in the color of our SKIN

My skin is not white, my skin is not black; it is somewhere in between

Yet NONE OF THAT MATTERS --- if I STILL CANNOT FREELY BREATHE

#HASHTAGS. #HASHTAGS. #HASHTAGS.

Dear #GeorgeFloyd,

Please. REST. IN. PEACE.