“All Lives Matter” is a poem written by Three Rivers native Torrey Brown. Any views or opinions expressed in this poem are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.

All lives matter,
As long as they are white males and the police
But not when Black people are the ones that are deceased. 
When it’s a person of color the first thing mentioned is their rap sheet
It doesn’t matter if the offense happened five years before they got beat. 
Does it really matter what they did before the camera started rollin?
Do they really deserve to die because a purse got stolen? 
If you tally up the names the list would be a mile long
Who knew that Kaep’s kneeling was no where near close to wrong? 
If you say All Lives Matter doesn’t that include the lives of people who look like me? Doesn’t it include Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and all the way back to Rodney? 
Oh but you want to refer to the other King because he was peaceful and that’s imperative, 
Or bring up Candace and the twins because their paid voices fit your narrative.
What you really need to do is open your ears and eyes but close your mouth. 
Because that Confederate flag didn’t represent all of the south. 
It was rebirth by the Dixiecrats because their Democratic party was integrated. 
So yeah, it’s not your heritage, it is fueled by hatred. 

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Torrey Brown is a loving husband, father, and son, and also an outspoken champion for the black cause and all social injustices.