The following poem written by 13-year-old Alexie Boursiquot is a winning submission in a Youth Voices contest held by Strategies for Youth, a nationwide nonprofit focused on improving the relationship between law enforcement and young people. For their contest, they asked youth to submit writing or artwork to tell us how they would improve interactions between police and youth. This was one of three winners from the category for youth ages 12-14.
Click here to read “Dear America,” another winning submission by Keyma Flight.
Violence
Caused by Miscommunication,
Left to assumption
Judging with no shame,
Accusations or just passing the blame,
A single match that starts a flame,
No tears can express the pain,
Emotions flood people’s brains
Words fail to soften the blow,
Justice fails to show,
Guilt fails to go,
Shame will forever follow
Unless
We look them in the eye,
Put our hands in the sky,
Don’t run, don’t try to hide,
It would save countless lives
Unless
They would look, but not judge
Hold not a single grudge,
The gun would never have to budge
The trigger never pulled,
The bullet never shot,
The life never taken,
No child left quaken, in fear
No screams loud enough for all to hear
No need for violence here