“Backpacks,” by Leslé Honoré

I came across this beautiful and heart-wrenching poem this morning (via): “Backpacks” by Leslé Honoré.

It starts like this:

When black boys are born

We mothers kiss their faces

Put them in carriers on our chest

Twirl our fingers in their curls

Show them to the world

Our tiny black princes

And when they start school

As early as 3

We mothers

Place huge back packs on their backs

And we slowly fill them with bricks

Read the whole thing here. Or watch and listen below.

BACKPACKS by Leslé Honoré from STOPTIME.LIVE on Vimeo.