This piece inspired by Angie Thomas, who wrote the book “The Hate U Give” The speaker in the poem is Khalil’s Angel who was murdered by Office 1-15 in front of his best friend Starr Carter. Khalil like many other young African American males never got justice. Enjoy.
I know this…
That the streets are not safe
Trust no one no matter who they are
Life is not easy for everybody
The good die young
I know this…
The streets can change you
People will claim they’re there for you
Maybe smile in your face
But they don’t really feel your pain
I know this…
I was a brave young Black American
Who never wanted to work them corners
But had to protect my peoples as the man of the house
It was my job to protect someone who never really cared for me
I know this…
They say a boy needs his father
But they really need their mother
I didn’t have either in my life
I only had grandma
I know this…
Everybody believes I’m a thug and a dealer
I wasn’t a King Lord or a corner boy
I was trying to be a man for once
I got killed and nobody really knew the truth
I know this…
I was a playa the ladies man
But I really only wanted the one girl who wasn’t there
I was told that the streets will get you nowhere in life
I told myself that I will never die
I know this…
That living in the Gardens you have to survive
Things were hard for my family
I had to do something to help grandma
Momma was a drug addict
I know this…
I had no weapon
I was just another African American boy who got shot by a racist
There was no justice for me but fake justice for Officer 1-15
Tags: The U School
I know this… by Khala is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Khala, I absolutely love your poem! Your inspiration for writing it is so important in our society today. Everyone deserves justice in our world and it’s so sad that not everyone gets that opportunity. You’re poem is very well written and emotional. I love how you felt strongly about this topic and expressed your feelings in this way. I hope you continue to write poems. Your writings are making a difference!!
Khala,
This is a great poem! I really like the way you wrote it and the topics that you talk about within it. It conveys a very powerful idea and it makes you think.
Khala,
I really like your work. I think this is a very powerful piece. This is also a very prevalent issue in our world today and I really enjoy the way you chose to approach it. It is so heartbreaking that there are so many African Americans out there who will never get justice like the boy you wrote from the perspective of. Thank you for sharing a piece like this.
I actually love this work. When writing it through your perspective you show that you understand but giving others an understanding as well.
Powerful work, K!
the poem was written really well i like how he kept it third person point of view it was also detailed really good keep up the good work. Ramon Velez
this is good poem because you played the role good as khalil
This poem is so powerful and if it is about you or the character in the book I really appreciate the thought and hard work you put into it. You managed to tell an entire story with just a few stanzas! Very powerful and well written,
K. Way to go! This turned out great. Keep writing.
Incredible! Thank you for sharing your gift. I’m honored to know that my book inspired you <3.