Who is Really Free?: Gonzaga Poets Respond to the Call for Social Justice

14 I Am Not a Virus By: Kadari Machen ‘22 I’m not a virus, There is no need to be scared of me, Even though my color is different we are much the same, We have the same aspirations, the same goals, And even the same brain, The difference is... that I’m in pain.

My brother got shot 7 times for breaking up a fight, Every time I walk past a cop car, my body gets tight It’s not right.

I’m not a virus, I just want justice, I want to walk down the street with my hoodie on and not be seen as destructive, If you gave me your wallet, Would I be trusted?

The system is corrupted.

How do we fix it though?

Is the answer to defund the police?

I really don’t know.

I wish we could all just take an equality pill I don’t have the answers, I just can’t keep seeing my brothers getting killed.