Some of Us Will Not Survive

Image description: A close up of one of the author’s altars, featuring a silver hams with blue heart center, a small Frida Kahlo bust, a string of cowry shells with beads, a handmade buckskin pouch, and in the far background a dried ear of corn, all on a dark blue piece of fabric. Image credit: Aaminah Shakur

Poem — Some of Us Will Not Survive, by Aaminah Shakur

You can listen to this poem HERE

Text of poem for those who cannot see the image, but this is without formatting.

Some of Us Will Not Survive

Some of us will not survive

That’s just a fact

We always knew when the

apocalypse came

Not everyone would make it

Whatever apocalypse means

to you

You knew deep inside

this was true

And even deeper inside

you worried it might be you

We read comix, watch tv, play video games

We see that some

Won’t pass the tests

It’s a long-standing joke

Who the zombies will eat first

who will shoot themselves

on accident

Who will not be able to run fast

Who will get stabbed for running

their mouth too much

Who will be rounded up first

Who will starve in jail

or give out from beatings

­

Some of us will not survive

It’s no longer a fiction

it’s becoming too real

People will try to say

we weren’t ready

weren’t worthy

weren’t useful enough

But

Let’s be more honest than that

in these last moments

we have together

Some of us will not survive

Because no one will care

Because when they come for us

others will turn away

and pretend they don’t see

Some of us will not survive

And no one will notice we are gone