A moment of silence
Will not change history
Will not bring back the dead
Will not replace tragedy with victory

A moment of silence
Will not reverse events
Will not restore security
Will not resend tears

A moment of silence
Is only to remember
What life was like before
We lost our patience
We gave up our hopes
We lost trust in our faith
And decided –
Segregation is the way to world peace
Separation is the way to independence
Solitude is the way to heal

I stand before my mirror today
Drawing on my eye line with a black pencil
Adding weight to the lashes that protect my eyes
Shading my lips to a hue that is not my own
Knowing, that my true colors beneath all application
Will be judged against my character
Will be imposed with expectations against my vision
Will be depended on with no gratitude
Will be compared to stereotypes of ideals

I would like to take a moment of silence
Today and everyday
To accept who I am
To recognize what I once was
To let myself grow

This moment of silence will guide me
Today and everyday
To dream with my eyes wide open
To realize who I need to become
To find the hero within me

I am taking this moment of silence
To create history, instead of become
To live before I die
To reform my failures into victories

I am taking this moment of silence
To live this day with many new beginnings
To trust myself to recreate security
To replace tears with courage

This moment of silence
Could take my breath away
But I will stand still
For our saviors would do the same