This is a prayer
for the Children of Aleppo
Whose tragedy was concealed before the eyes of the giants
Whose tears never had a chance to fall down to the ground
My Lord, my Almighty One
Keep these children
Welcome them back to Your arms
Let them feel loved again
Help them subside the pain they felt
Fill their newly-furnished rooms
With songs and laughter
Let them forget the scent of gunpowder and bombs
Teach them how to smile once more
Bring back the glimmer in their eyes
And as for those who still breathe to survive
Conceal them with Your love and immense protection
Let them know that beneath the ends of the earth
There would always be a sunrise
A new day
Where they could draw their stories
And dance their dreams
With those eyes
staring into blank distance
Bewildered,
Unaware of what will happen next
Let them hear my voice
A small voice of cheering them up
For this is all I could do for now
How foolish am I
Lavishly sitting on a comfortable bed
Under a secured roof
Writing a poem for those who gained my sympathy
But You know
There's more to that
Let them reach this
I want to tell them
How much they could change this world
Hang on tight
Believe me

Each and everyone of you
are tougher than any fighter this history could ever tell.

A label is the weapon of Hate
Written swiftly to defend those worthy
And quicker still to condemn the unworthy

A label is to confine within a spectrum
To be anything but it to be exceptional
To be anything but it to be forgotten

When two men of evil intent strike
But one is white, he is called by his trades
But one is black, he is called by his crime

When two men of good save the day
But one is white, he is a hero
But one is black, he is gone with the wind

This narrative of Hate's design
Sets in place a story void of fact
But a story which becomes fruition

This sinister tale becomes a holy book
For which people stake and claim lives
A fairy tale with real and cruel consequences

These labels, while beautiful in diversity
Simultaneously enforce the war of US vs. THEM
Compliance in such a story, is Ignorance's Finest Hour

I don't know who
the next me will be,
what skin she'll be wearing,
whether she will learn to surf the waves
and not just dip her feet in them.

Will this be the year
she finally looks anxiety in
the eye and says
"You will not stop me?"
Will it be the year she finally
looks suicide in the eye and says
"You will not take me?"

My youth and her youth is slipping away
behind signatures and steering wheels,
behind money and percentages,
but these don't define her or me...

If she'll believe in herself,
throw herself into life's ride
and breathe, then she will be okay,
but if she is the harshest critic,
the most high of all perfectionists,
she might struggle.

I want to tell her that breathing
is the most beautiful thing she could
specialize in during her beautiful existence,
I want to tell her to not be terrified of the night,
and whatever lurks behind her eyelids,
It's just a dream girl, nothing more.

I want to tell her imperfection is beautiful,
I want to tell her to commit so
her life can be wonderful,
I want to tell her she wasn't raised
to howl over anyone,
I want to tell her: let them love you,
and let them leave you,
Let them hold you but
don't ever let them break you.

Have you ever heard the rain,
Fall softly on a tin shed,
A thousand ball bearings tinkering softly above your head,

Have you ever felt  a mountains breath,
Bite at your fingers as you climb,
The dead stone calling you to fall,
But still you press ahead

Have you ever felt the sun
Scorch the earth, but not your flesh,
Where you bask for warmth,
Plants lie dead

Have you ever felt loves warm embrace
Raw and powerful,
Sweep itself  from your life
Tyranically, full of dread.

Have you ever found yourself  lost
Only to find yourself exactly where you
Need to be.

They are coming after me...
I can hear them braking the chains...
Screams, cries, silence...

Silence at once,
Is it over?
Am I saved?

Screeching...
I hear screeching, crying and screaming...
They are coming for me!

I hear them,
They are everywhere,
Spinning in circles,
All around me they've come for me!

I hear them.
I hear my inner demons.

-Kathia Mariana Landeros