By Jessica of Domestic Pirate
Listen children, listen well,
You don’t have to die
To experience hell
You don’t need scars to bear wounds cut deep
You don’t need misery
To have cause to weep
You need only it seems, to be born not white
To have pigmented skin
From just tan to dark night
Listen little children, take heed of my words
So many are still caged
Wings clipped like birds
They fear their neighbors, maybe even you and I
They fear the police
And strangers walking by
Our whiteness is something that gives us a pass
To live fiercely and loudly
To challenge authority with sass
Please listen, dear children, with heart, mind, and soul
This hatred is spiraling
It is out of control
We need you, sweet children, to choose love instead
No matter a person’s color, their size
Or who sleeps in their bed
I’m begging you, children, be better than us
Because if you can’t
Then we all will be lost
An aspiring novelist and doula-in-training, Jessica is the Domestic Pirate, Ren Faire Privateer Gone Mom. When she’s not blogging (www.domesticpirate.com) or wasting time on Facebook (www.facebook.com/domesticpirateblog), Twitter (www.twitter.com/domesticpirate), and Instagram (www.instagram.com/domesticpirate) she’s taking care of the Captain and their 4 Cabin Kids. Her writing has been featured on Scary Mommy, xoJane, PunkyMoms, Mamalode, Sammiches and Psych Meds, Mamapedia Voices, BLUNTmoms, and BlogHer, and she is working on publishing her first children’s book. Obsessed with Pirates and the internet, she is convinced that the dough is always better than the cookie.
