To those who would have us crawl

but never stand upright:

We will not die!

To those who have us stand,

but never take flight:

We will not die.

To those who would

erase the truth

and replace it with a lie:

We will not die!

Our schools continue to crumble

and we should be humble in our reply?

We will not die!

Their troops shoot us up and down

protecting and serving

their own supply,

but we will not die!

Our "friends" give up;

our enemies try.

We will not die!

The world may be unmoved,

and reprove the youth

when they cry,

but we will not die!

Support may well

go dry,

but we will not die!

We will not break,

bend or comply.

We will not die!

We will not turn,

shift or close our eyes.

We will not die!

We will face the flame

and, if need be, fry!

But We Will Not Die!

BlackCommentator.com Guest Poet, Anthony Gayle is a doctoral student in Math-Education at Morgan State University. He's been writing poetry for almost ten years. Click here to reach Mr. Gayle.