IUSWE

After the parade, will we win?

Will they finally to stop judging me by the color of my skin?

Will they let me love whom my heart wills?

Will they decide that my feelings aren't worth the hill?

Will they retaliate against me like an enemy intruder

or will they shrug me off like an active school shooter?

Will they drive through the streets with tanks and guns?

Will they mow me down in the square...just for fun?

Will they make a holiday if I suffer a bit more?

Will I have to die on the way home from the store?

Will there be a month dedicated just for us

to celebrate who we are without a fuss?

Is that what they will do when they don't want to deal

with the endemic issue; when they don't want to feel?

Will they give us a Mardi Gras to over indulge

and then pretend to abstain rather than divulge?

Will we be happy with this hard earned prize

when all it means is we've been marginalized?

If we fight for our right to control our body,

how much longer will this moment remain a party?

Like slavery ended but racism prevailed,

will we be ignored while systematically assailed?

Will we be free after the parade

or will bigotry remain acceptable 'til the debt is paid?