Do I feel as strongly as you

Do I feel as strongly as you

Does pain cut quite as deeply

Are the scars of old wounds

Slower to heal

The mark of them worn with pride

Or shame

My voice so rarely heard

Every word I use

Tossed against the wall

Do I know the stink of failure

When the best of me

Has been undone

For want and need of understanding

Do I lack compassion for the racist

The misogynist

Because they could easily be me

Without the insight to know

The difference between

Us is less than the space

Between our ears

Do I comprehend the significance

Of injustice when I have never

Faced its wrath

What do I know of horror

When eating

From a silver-plated spoon

What if I do know

The pain of loss

Will that bring me closer

To an understanding

Of what it feels to be enslaved

When what I want is always

Within my compass

Would I give myself away

For the truth of my conviction

Am I strong enough

To sacrifice pride

Rail against primacy

As a product of favour

An accident of birth

Reverse a wheel of fortune

Favour the brave

Perhaps it will take a better man

Than me to see

A world where we are truly

All created equal

The inherent nature of our value

Is in our humanity

Our goal, to pursue

The possibility of happiness

For everyone

Without prejudice

Or the promise of reward