we live
and we ache
and we breathe
and we feel

why are we trained
from birth
to say that crying is weak
that joy and pain
have no value to the world

who is to say
that we are blank
that we are numb
that we should act
as though we are machinery
cold, perfect steel
fitting right within the grooves
that society hollows for us

i am alive!
and i love!
and i anger!
and emotion wells in my chest
a leaky pipe prone to bursting

enough time has been wasted
trying to rewire our beings
for the sole benefit of efficiency