If they shoot, tell my story

If they shoot, tell my story A boy writes a letter to his mother She will know nothing of it Until Something bad happens But he knows something will He knows the colour of his skin He knows that it means a possible death sentence He gives his mom direct instructions Of what to do if they try to silence his existence He wants the world to know that he is the real victim And his killers are the real villains He would not allow the world to be ignorant All the time He saw kids like him being killed He wanted it to end with him He had a plan To expose the violence Of a system trying to erase innocent kids like him He wanted the world to know the truth about politicians Who fake their sympathy To change the narrative As a distraction For their evil actions He knew she would know what he meant He didn't want his death to be in vain He wanted everyone to feel the pain The type of pain black people experience everyday Even if it means he has to die to make them pay He wanted his mother to tell their story Of when she found out she was pregnant And how she had already began to mourn him Of her labour and how she faced discrimination How her pain was ignored Even though there was something wrong How she feared losing her son Because of their racism He wanted the world to know about his childhood How he grew up And about his neighbourhood A place where everyone understood That many of their people might not make it out the hood How the corrupt system locked them up And collectively stole every back kids innocence He told her to talk about his intelligence How he beat the education system And was preparing for college And looked forward to his 18th birthday where he would get to experience adulthood How it was all he could talk about His final words was about how much he loved her About how thankful He was for her protection Her love and affection And said no matter what happens she will always be appreciated A few weeks later A month before his 18th birthday One of his racist neighbours Decided this would be his last day Later his mom found his letter Cried for her sons murder Promising her son She would avenge him She would get justice and make the world better She would make sure the world remembers