Azariah Cole-Shephard
Azariah Cole-Shephard
Oakland Youth Poets Laureate (1.6Mb)
For the Black men
my love cannot protect,
you are radiant.
Your eloquence is the gun
they swear you have when they shoot you.
The speed of your tongue
is justification to stand their ground.
Your existence is the antithesis of their contentment,
for the world is not prepared for you to succeed.
You are powerful.