WOMAN
All her life she had been someone else's life
Someone else's hopes
Wrapped up in someone else's version of pretty
Held together by obligation
All her life
She had seen but never spoken
Had questions she never asked
Told truths she didn't believe in
Head to toe
She was someone else's disappointment
Envy
Hate
Preconceived notion
When I met her
She has resolve written all over her face
It glimmered in the sunshine
It hid beneath the dark circles
Under her eyes
She always had more plans
Than sleep
More worry than gain
More
Than anyone else I had ever met before
She climbed branches
Skimmed knees
Buried trinkets and treasure
Made maps
Of you are here
And this is where you want to be
Maps that changed
As forcefully
As her plans did
She had always been someone else's life
Someone else's problem
Someone else's find
When they found her
She wasn't pretty
She had resolve
Marked furiously all over her body
Clenched fists to mark her territory
She was the bravest woman I have ever met
She is the decisions
I make
Without regret
She is unapologetic
No i will not let you
She is holding my hand
With every fuck you
She is places I will see
Betrayals I will forgive
Darkness I will not run into
She is resolve
In the tip of my pen
In the quiet of my soul
In the many shades of woman
That will someday make me whole.
HOW TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it
again and when they do it - seems only children weep. - (Atticus Finch)
I have recently been blessed with a niece
I look into her eyes
And see absolute good
And I'm scared
That this world isn't
The best place to
Raise a child
Someday someone will
Make her feel small
Or unworthy
Try to chip away at the certainty in her soul
Tell her the world is not her oyster
Teach her to discriminate based on
Religion, race, sexual preference
Geography, food, clothing
Status, education, accents
We have labelled everything you see
And now that we have names for everything
And everyone
Our knowing slowing weaned away
By prejudice
We laugh at people falling face forward in the street
And do not blink at young children
Smashed against rocks
Covered up in white sheets
We need movies to entertain us
Music to give us hope
Books to titillate our fantasies
Terminal illnesses to remind us we are human
Accidents to remind us life is not fair
So many reminders everyday
Why is your sense of self so inflated
That it only fits you and the
People you deem fit
See this makes me angry
And anger is counterproductive
She is looking at me as if
I am the embodiment of love
And I want more than anything
To be the best possible me for her
But too often I have found myself in situations
That do not adequately represent me
Skimmed the surface of policies
That seem to speak for me
Shrouded in the comfort of my
Mild pro-active-ness
My sometimes angered
Sometime reactive-ness
I am guilty
Of forgetting to extend empathy
Unconditionally
I have an opportunity to stand on pedestals
To tell you
That your stereotypes upset me
Boat people, curry munchers, bogans, black, yellow, brown, white
Human - people - we all have the same innards
The same blood
The same fallacies
There is tar in your food
Plastic in your clothes
Wool over your eyes
And apathy in your
Dreams
Ssssssssssssssh
I try to put her to sleep
She has teddies and toys
But she is fascinated by my hand
The simplicity of doing this -
Followed by shrill laughter
Sooths my soul
Do you remember when you were too young
To know what it meant to be corrupt
When lying/cheating/death still horrified you
See we didn't all start out this way
Angry, jaded bystanders
Hope is so simple in this moment
Just ask yourself one question
When a child looks up at YOU
Do they see the potential for good?
Are they looking at the face of possibility
or will you raise them
to shrug shoulders
believing that nothing ever changes
that one voice doesn't matter
that the only thing guaranteed
is that we are helpless
do you feel helpless?
because I tell you now you are not
your actions can affect an entire generation
social justice is an necessary
as upgrading your smart phone
redefine activism
wear it on your sleeve
pass it on to friends
believe
that every kind deed
every brave voice
every action that shows dissent
is part of a bigger evolution
and no revolution
can every be won
by maybe
so say
yes
I will be better
I will be brave
I will not let you warp my idea of justice
I will not speak softly
I will remember what it means to be free
and I will soar