Tanisha Reed Poet Free verse

The Weight of Injustice

Today, I learned
of a family broken
by hands that should protect.
A man, cruel and bitter,
beat the mother for daughters
three, then four.

The baby cried,
and he told her not to touch her child.
Threats of poison, of bullets, of death
hung over the quiet of their home.

How could a life be measured
by the shape of its body,
the promise of its heart?

Being a daughter is no curse
no mistake.
It is a gift, a blessing
from God,
from the universe.
A mother does not choose
it is the father who determines,
yet the world still asks
her to bear the blame.

I hate his cruelty,
his misuse of power,
his betrayal of humanity.
But I do not hate boys,
I do not hate men.
I hate injustice.
I hate violence.

We must speak.
We must protect.
We must honor every life,
especially the girls,
the daughters,
the mothers,
who deserve love, care, respect.

Let kindness guide us.
Let empathy lead us.
Let justice hold us
to our highest human calling.


Note: This is a true story that happened just a week ago.

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Tom Cunningham January 13, 2026 at 9:28 PM It's sad that some men still live in the dark ages. Powerful verse Natasha. Tom Tanisha Reed January 14, 2026 at 1:46 AM Thank you, Tom. I appreciate you taking the time to read and reflect on it. The story behind this poem is painful, but staying silent only allows injustice to continue. My hope is that words like these help keep empathy alive and remind us that cruelty is learned but so is compassion.