Don't Grow Silent

I feel in shock
I feel afraid
Will I have to go back?
Will we be slaves?
Brothers, sisters,
Black and brown
Wondering
What will become
Of us -
What now?

I feel hopeless
I'm not okay
I feel angry
Not just for today.
Whether he or she or they
Brothers, sisters,
LGBTQIA
Wondering
What rights
Will we lose
Today?

I feel unsafe.
No one
Has my back.
It's for my faith I am
Under attack.
Brothers, sisters
Jew and Muslim, praying
Please, I'm not
What they are
Saying...

I feel raw
And I feel open
I feel vulnerable
Worthless, and broken.
Brothers, sisters
Disabled and Deaf
Wondering
If they kill us
Who will care?
And who will
Be left?

I feel degraded
I feel dirty
I feel powerless
I feel unworthy
Mothers, sisters,
Daughters, friends,
Survivors, girls and
Women
Wondering
Does my voice matter?
Am I limited?

We must keep talking
We must not grow silent
Because hate unchecked
Thrives.  Lives
Are at stake here.

Let not heads turn
In egregious indifference
Claiming to misunderstand
That hate, like love
Starts in the man.
(If you did not protect us
You are helping them
In harming us.)

Let not one more child
Lose their innocence
Knowing there is much to fear.

Though terror is real
We still must speak,
One voice at first,
The opposite of meek:

We are here.

(Covered in peace to guard against hate)

We are here.

(Covering each other while we wait)

We are here.

(Believing this is not our fate...)

We are here.

(Sign it

Say it

Spell it

Indicate it)

We are here.