I refuse to stand by
While innocent people
Take bullets to the head,
And slit their wrists with steak knives.

I refuse to ignore the pain
Of a lover, a brother, a child lost
To hatred and to illness,
When something can be done.

I refuse to keep silent,
Pretend that if I don’t speak up
It will all go away,
Like a summer rainstorm passing through.

I refuse to believe
That mental health is unimportant,
That racism doesn’t exist,
That everyone is happy
And everything is okay.

I’ve held the knife,
I’ve heard the deadly words
That can always be left unspoken.

The fear lies in the thought
That if we stand up for what is true and just,
We will be ignored, we will be injured,
Our voices will mean nothing.

If I write for nothing else,
I write so that you hear my voice.
Now let the world hear yours.