Why does it matter that
I leave my footprints in the sand
If it can't even survive a wave of sea water...
Why does it matter that,
I leave the traces of my being
If one day,
It's going to be blown by the wind...
Why does it matter that
I inscribe my name
On a rock at the peak of that mountain
If one day,
it's going to fade with the inexorable rain...
Why does it matter that
I mark my space in the minds of others
When the memories you hold
Are not even loyal to you...
Why does it matter
That I make myself
A little more significant than others
If everything in this world
Evanesces with time anyway...
It's been two decades since I was born
With everyday asking myself 'what for?'
With everyday looking up to a stone idol
Expecting answer to the one question I can't utter...
It's been one decade since the realization struck
That all those pleas and questions I sent
Was received by a room full of nothingness
And even if some soul lingers in that darkness
He doesn't care about a girl with a cruel fate...
That whenever I looked up at the sky
With the hope in my heart to find salvation
All along it had nothing to offer
Except darkness and suffocation...
It's been some years since I came to acceptance
That a tree can't move away from its roots
It took some time to put back the pieces
To mend something that has always been broken
To stand up and walk again
I still have the scars and one fragile heart
Unanswered questions and unfulfilled wishes
But now I know, it doesn't make a difference
I can't cut my roots but I can still grow
And that was when,
I was born again.
You remember that day, I saw you in the park?
You were sitting on a swing with a little girl on your lap. A goofy smile was plastered on your face, so real that it burned my heart. I know, you sensed me watching you as you abruptly looked my way.
And I'm sorry.
I'm sorry that I looked away before you caught my eyes. I'm sorry that for a little while, it dimmed your charming smile.
The truth is that I'm jealous. Jealous of the way you embrace life, when I feel so burdened by it. Jealous of how brave you must be, to be able to smile in a world like this. You seem to have mastered the art of living while I'm still figuring out its meaning.
It's so ironic that we ourselves created a world we want to escape every waking moment.
It’s not true..
That I don’t miss you anymore
I know I don’t call that often
And we don’t share the same town anymore
I know it’s been years since you moved
And we don’t see each other anymore
But it’s still not true
That I don’t miss you anymore
You’re the first person whom I called a friend
And not because it was convenient
We are as different as we can be
But somehow we make it work
We have little interest in common
But we still talk for hours
You don’t relate to my struggles and pain
But you’re still with me at every bend
-----
Dear Bestfriend,
I know you miss me too but you won't say it out loud. But I'm not a coward like you. So there it is.
Eyes that hold
Million unspoken words;
Lips that are
Afraid to form a sentence;
Heart that cries
"Please, hear my silence."
I was your shadow
Always following you
In stormy nights
In grainy lights
Even in your darkest hours
When you were too immersed
In your own darkness to see me.
I was your air
Essence of your life
But unnoticed
Until the day I left
And you realised
What suffocation is.
I was your sun
You frowned
Whenever you looked at me
Hid yourself
In my presence
But you didn't realise
Without me
No dawn is coming.
All blood is red 6/13/2020
Racial threats equals civil unrest
In this mathematical problem that continues to test
A community segregated from a nation
Separated by hatred
Created by a division of color
Falsely identified
Personified by the actions
That are fueled by misguided intentions
Purposely made
Questions are asked but answers evade
The formulation of a resolution
A problem that had arised before my generation
That Continues with its evolution
It continues to hurt
It continues to kill
It continues to spill
Blood absorbed by the soil
upon which this country was built
Now am I wrong
To hum the words to a age old song
"We shall overcome"
I can't breathe
Those words are stuck on repeat
But I'll give all of me
A sacrifice
To make sure that we are free
To believe in such a thing called equality
My skin color shouldn't be a burden
Or make me a target
The choice to life should be my own to make regardless
Now beg my pardon
And excuse me as I continue to live and to fight
Not only for me but for the future minorities and their civil rights
Education is key
So lets take the right steps to lead
In order to proceed
Violence is not the answer
It's a distractor
A motivator
Which widens a gap
A political trap
Said in a way to pacify
That a lot of people fail to see
Let's both take a look in the mirror to view the differences
Then the similarities
Once cut, you'll see
That we both will bleed the same
If we both died today, our mothers will feel the same pain
So with this continued fight what are we continuing to gain?
A question that I will leave unanswered
Just like all the others that no one continues to claim
The outside may differ but inside the vein it's all the same.
all blood is red
i cannot tell you from experience the hardships of my fellowman,
but i can tell you what my eyes have seen.
they’ve seen them being condemned and deemed guilty from the moment they are born,
judged by something that upholds no merit amongst the majority of us.
i’ve seen them being judged by their culture;
their background;
i’ve seen them being diminished, humiliated and killed.
an entire continent built on the blood of innocents
with no reparation, no reformation.
i’ve seen my fellowman cry, scream, fight,
shed their own blood for a cause,
their cause!
fighting for the very thing i was privileged to have just by being born a different shade.
so when they come to me to speak, i listen.
so when they come to me for help, i stand in front of them.
if my skin can shield them from the blindness of hatred
then so be it!
i will use it to their advantage.
i will fight for their cause,
for i can no longer bear to see innocent blood wash this streets;
i can no longer hear the cry of a mother drowning in sorrow.
i refuse to side with the ignorant,
the bigoted,
the blind.
i will make their cause my cause;
their pain my pain,
because i believe us to be the same,
with red blood in our veins
and the will to fight to see this world be a better place.
A collaboration with a fellow poet @bea-is-back
Something that we felt needed to be said and done. Feel free to check her work if you looking to feel inspired.
~ Quiet-Storm ~