I am sorry,
but do not
bother comforting me.
I am crying right now
but you will not read
this poem for many weeks
after this sadness
has passed.
These are not tears
of self-pity.
The water works
are because it hurts
to see others get hurt.
This isn’t a woe is me
small set of verses
for people to see.
This is saltwater anguish
as I watch others suffering.
This is outrage
at the outright inhuman displays
that these authoritarians play
as they spray mace
in a little child’s face
while her mother is
looking the other way.
This is a tongue held so often
that my own words
can no longer soften
this brutal reality.
This is my shame,
cause I claim
to be a good person
but I am not out on the street
with other protesters
cutting my teeth
letting cops bludgeoning me
with their nightsticks.
Aug 9, 2020
Aug 9, 2020 at 7:56 AM UTC
I am sorry,
but do not
bother comforting me.
I am crying right now
but you will not read
this poem for many weeks
after this sadness
has passed.
These are not tears
of self-pity.
The water works
are because it hurts
to see others get hurt.
This isn’t a woe is me
small set of verses
for people to see.
This is saltwater anguish
as I watch others suffering.
This is outrage
at the outright inhuman displays
that these authoritarians play
as they spray mace
in a little child’s face
while her mother is
looking the other way.
This is a tongue held so often
that my own words
can no longer soften
this brutal reality.
This is my shame,
cause I claim
to be a good person
but I am not out on the street
with other protesters
cutting my teeth
letting cops bludgeoning me
with their nightsticks.
