I Can’t Breathe
I
Can’t…
Bow down to injustice. No justice- no peace
Rest on all this madness…oppression…suffering- the mark of the beast
Exist for the sake of existing, I’m a fighter for freedom’s sake
Allow myself to be the object of another’s self- hate
Tolerate double standards, the system’s not a safe bet
Hold my head high…my hands higher. I’m still a threat
Exhale. I can’t inhale…I can’t breathe…I can’t breathe…I can’t breathe…I fight til my last breath.
About this poem
This poem was written following the death of Eric Garner.
Font size:
Written on August 31, 2015
Submitted by Jamilah on March 11, 2022
Modified on April 14, 2023
- 24 sec read
- 1 View
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XX X X X X A A X |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 491 |
Words | 83 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"I Can’t Breathe" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/124167/i-can’t-breathe>.
Discuss the poem I Can’t Breathe with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In