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Starry Aug 2019
West of China
The moon shines bright
As a pearl
Only to be swallowed up my a
Demonic Chinese dragon
Plunging turkestan
Into darkness
As a white dove flies by
Unscathed.
Starry Aug 2019
Uh, yeah
Another one of those
(This is for my man the 14th
Dalai Lama)
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
What they don't know is
The *******, the drama (uh), the guns, the armor (what!)
The city, the farmer, the babies, the mama (what!)
The ghettos, the drugs (uh!), the children, the soldiers (Uh!)
The tears, the hugs, the love, the slugs (c'mon!)
The funerals, the wakes, the temples, the coffins (uh!)
The heartbroken mothers - it happens too often (why?)
The problems, the things we use to solve 'em (what!)
Mustang, Bhutan (uh!), Kathmandu , ottawa (c'mon!)
The hurt, the pain, the dirt, the rain (uh!)
The ****, the hate, the work, the gain (uh!)
The friends, the foes, the protests, the nazis (what!)
The autopsies, the shows, comes and it goes (c'mon!)
The racism, the envy, the phony, the friendly (uh-huh!)
The one that gave them the slugs, the one that put 'em in me (woo!)
The snakes, the grass too long to see (uh, uh!)
The lawnmower sittin' right next to the tree (c'mon!)
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
What we seeing is
The streets, the chinese, the uiygers, torture (uh-huh)
The options, get shot, go to jail, or getcha *** kicked (a'ight)
The human rights , the part they are of the puzzle (uh-huh)
The release, the warning, "Try not, to get in trouble." (****!)
The bullies, the odds (uh), guantanamo, yakuza (what!)
The new enemy, the prank, the ****, the airports (****!)
The cell, the airport security, the ride down south (uh-huh)
The greens, the boots, camp delta, the dogs  (uh!)
The fightin', the stabbin', the pullin', the grabbin' (what!)
The trade center, nobody knows what happened (what!)
The wars, revenge, the plots (uh!)
The sleep devipravtion, the one hour that's not (uh!)
The silence, the dark, the mind so fragile (a'ight!)
The wish that the streets of lhasa would have took you when they had you (****!)
The days, the months, the years, despair
One night on my knees, here it comes: om mani padme hum
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
This here is all about
My girlfriend, my parents (uh-huh), the life that I live (uh-huh)
Through the night I was his (uh-huh), it was right what I did (uh-huh)
My ups and downs (uh), my slips, my falls (uh)
My trials and tribulations (uh), my heart, my baoudings (uh)
My mother, my father - I love 'em, they annoy me (uh!)
Wish God, I didn't have 'em, but I'm glad that he made 'em (uh!)
The airplanes, the fire, the strays, the cats (what, what!)
The guns, knives and bats, every time we scrap
The hijacking, the kidnapping', the robbin', the stealin' (uh!)
The **** hit the ceilin', little girl with no feelin's (****)
The frustration, rage, trapped inside a cage
The beatings till the age I read (a'ight!)
Somebody stop me (please!), somebody come and get me (what!)
Little did I know that the Lord was ridin' with me
The dark, the light (uh), my heart (uh), the fight (uh)
The wrong (uh!), the right (uh!), it's gone (uh!), a'ight!
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
They don't know who we are
Rowan Aug 2019
He couldn’t see beyond the veil of mist obscuring the burrows
where the army of undead stood, where the price he had paid for living awaited.
In the gloom of a moon trapped behind a nimbus night,
they didn’t shuffle or groan or whisper terrible things,
nor did they appear grotesque and layered in slabs of their own blood.

He slunk forward to meet them, eyes darting in wild arcs,
skinned lips bitten a bittersweet rosy delight.
It was fear written on his face, not anger or pity or nostalgia,
or maybe it was under his eyelids, beckoning him toward what couldn’t be considered friends,
they were acquaintances of coincidence instead.

The sincere light had been snuffed out long ago,
back when people believed in gods who gave a **** about them—
now they had to make their own ******* miracles.
He might’ve laughed at the word if he wasn’t stuck in a place resembling the Asphodel Meadows…
they weren’t heroes or noble or mighty, they were the murdered, the slaughtered.

He joined his brethren, his body warded off in a grave he felt didn’t matter;
nothing changed because of his death or the hoarse public howl.
The ranks reminded him of the scene in Lord of the Rings with legions of men and women standing strong against a matching foe, but for the foe itself—
their foe numbered fewer, a cluster of pale beings with roaring eyes full of fallacies.

He couldn’t see back where he had burst forth from, but he didn’t try—
his fear hadn’t evaporated, it swirled around him… no, it coiled around all of them,
a mass of heaving exhausted dread spanning too many centuries.
They were all the same in one terrible condition, one method of mayhem done,
he fell to his knees and cried out, for he saw past the veil—

swathed in hopeless suits and scapegoat words, their nation had let another gun prevail.
I wrote this after the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. I'm exhausted of hearing this news, day after day, week after week. I wrote this in that exhausted and fear.
Ashton Jul 2019
being a woman in the 21st century is great

a past full of women who fought for us
for us to vote
for us to work
for us to feel safe
for us to be equal to our male counterparts

now i can buy pepper spray at my college bookstore

now i can learn to hate *** because i began to be sexualized at 11 years old

now i can walk down my street and only hope to blend in to all those around me so i don’t get yelled at by strange men

now i can have a one night stand and pray no mistakes happen and punch my lower stomach and pump my body with toxins as much as possible just in case

this isn’t even the tip of the iceberg
this isn’t even every struggle a woman must make

but can’t you agree that

being a woman in the 21st century is great?
Carl D'Souza Jul 2019
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
says we have the right
to life, liberty and security of person.

When I have the right
to life,
do you have the duty
to keep me alive?

When I have the right
to liberty,
do you have the duty
to give me liberty?

When I have the right
to security of person,
do you have the duty
to give me security my person?
Carl D'Souza Jul 2019
What does it mean
when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
says we should
‘act towards one another in the spirit of brotherhood’?

Should we be peacefully cooperating
to achieve our mutual happiness?
Carl D'Souza Jul 2019
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
says we are all born free,
but what do we mean by ‘freedom’?

Is a baby starving in a slum
free from poverty?

Is a baby dying in a war-zone
free from violence?

Is a baby crying in a refugee camp
free from persecution?

Should we be striving to improve our world
until babies are born free
from all the situations which lead to
our unhappiness?
Carl D'Souza Jul 2019
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
says we are all endowed with Reason,
but what do we mean by ‘Reason’
in everyday life?

Is Reason:

Logically relating concepts?

Or

Being strategic
in pursuit of selfish interests?

Or

Philosophically discovering
wisdom
about what practical activities to do
to achieve joy and happiness?
Carl D'Souza Jul 2019
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
says we all should have equal dignity,
but is that the way we think
in everyday life?

I live in a big house in wealthy suburb
and you live in a small house in a poor suburb:
Should I have more dignity than you?
Or should we have the equal dignity of fellow human-beings?

I drive an expensive sports car
and you drive a second-hand sedan:
Should I have more dignity than you?
Or should we have the equal dignity of fellow human-beings?

I wear a bespoke suit
and you wear an off-the-rack:
Should I have more dignity than you?
Or should we have the equal dignity of fellow human-beings?
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