Injustice

I want to live in a world where
Gay people aren’t thrown off buildings
Or even forced to pretend they’re straight

And people who can’t bring themselves to believe
In one god or another can be elected
Without having to fight through a pile of hate

I’d like to see a world in which little kids
Don’t have to worry about being shot by cops
While they’re sitting on swings at the park

And a woman won’t have to look over her shoulder
Or finger the mace in her tightly clutched purse
When she’s walking home from work in the dark

I want to live in a world where
“Wanna fight?” isn’t the first answer
Any time there’s a minor disagreement

And going to war isn’t the thing
Our country is known for around the world
Wouldn’t that be a massive achievement?

What if the world could get to a point
Where we don’t argue over known and proven facts
And no one intentionally puts out misinformation?

And what if the poor were treated like the rich
Like being able to keep their jobs and kids
While fighting off a false criminal accusation?

And what if the sentences imposed after conviction
Treated everyone the same, regardless of color
Or the amount of money you can bring to bear?

What if the military and public schools
Weren’t giving black girls unnecessary grief
Because of the way evolution made their hair?

I want to live in a world where
The pronounciation of someone’s last name
Doesn’t determine whether she gets hired

And women can get promoted as easily as menfolk
Instead of having to be sweet decorations and
Avoid getting pregnant so they’re not fired

I’d like to see a world in which all of us
Have the right to peacefully end our lives
Without a doctor worrying about going to jail

And people can go to the bathroom without fear
Of harassment or rape or bullying
Whether they are trans, women, or male

What if people didn’t blow up buildings
In the cruelest way to make a point?

What if no one went to jail because
They were holding or smoking a joint?

What if no one ever had to choose
Between medicine and food for a child?

What if we proved we were civilized
Instead of universally wild?

It’s almost like we’re animals,
Evolved from predator and prey
It’s almost like the injustice
Is definitely here to stay.