By A-dZiko Simba Gegele

For George Floyd

And all those who have drowned in the absence of justice

We do not need masks

for our pleas to be stifled

you so arresting

our own breaths withheld from

our breathing

we became known of drowning on land

long before the panic of virus

we became known of drowning by rope

we became known of oceans in lungs

we became known of ruptured organs

we became known of too much of such

and such

white lies can’t mask the past

no black lives became known of until

we ourselves were gone.

We have not breathed since

Thy Kingdom Come

Freedom has its own perfume

Justice its own colour

the retribution will not be ours

but we will all become known of its

scent

so pure it pervades the darkest heart.

(c)A-dZiko Simba Gegele May 2020

A-dZiko has been writing and rebelling for decades. Born in England to Nigerian and Jamaican parents she now lives in Jamaica writing, performing spoken word poetry and storytelling. She works with diverse communities throughout the Caribbean and her writing. has attracted a number of awards including the Burt Award for Caribbean Literature for her debut novel All Over Again.

This poem by A-dZiko Simba Gegele is published with her permission as she currently resides in a country outside the medium partner payment. All proceedings go to her in support of her writing and work with disadvantaged children in the Caribbean. You can also support her here.