Grain of Ink

We did this.

Do you feel it too?

The weight in your ches t Like gravity decided you owe it something?

They blare headlines like battle cries -

Another war, another storm , Another reason to stop listening.

Do you feel it too?

The wind in still moments,

When the world presses her grief into your skin

And whispers,

"You were supposed to take care of me "

Do you feel it too?

The fire they lit in your lungs

Just to watch you breath smoke.

We turn skin into slurs,

Bodies into targets,

And love into something to hate.

Do you feel it too?

The silence after the shots ring out,

When the echoes last longer than the lives they ended?

We clutch our thoughts and prayers

Like they'll patch the holes in hearts

That no longer beat

Do you feel it too?

The shame of calling this progress,

When progress still looks like a closet,

A crime scene,

A coffin.

When love still needs and alibi,

And being yourself

Means being hunted.

Do you feel it too?

The way we teach fear instead of respect—

“Don’t wear that.”

“Don’t walk there.”

“Don’t drink that."

“Don’t trust them.”

As if the blame belongs to the one who couldn’t run fast enough

Do you feel it too?

The break in her voice when she whispers

"I can't afford it"

Clutching a bill in one hand

And her son's hand in the other

Counting pills

Because there's not enough for both the rent

And the cure.

We did this.

Do you feel it?

We built this.

Do you feel it?

Brick by brick.

Dollar by dollar.

Hate by hate.

We lit the match,

Then blamed the fire.

We drew the lines,

Then hate the crossing.

We chose silence,

Then called it peace.

Do you feel it?

#poetry