My Poetry

I would stand

My teacher was like: what would you stand up for and then gave us five minutes to write something. I have no chill so here's what happened:

My voice is little but it speaks for many,

The only question is,

Will anyone hear it?

I want to stand up for those I love,

For those whom I respect and for those whom I don't know,

I want to stand up for the planet

because it cannot speak for itself;

Though the raging winds and storms make sounds,

We ignore the pain behind the crying clouds.

I want to stand up for BIPOC citizens

Because their voices are too often silenced;

Though they stand up for themselves

We diminish what they say,

until all we see is the color of the moving lips.

I want to stand up for the homeless

Because they have nowhere to go use their voices;

Though they beg for help and assistance

We only see ragged clothes and bad teeth,

 and we use them as an example of, "not trying."

I want to stand up for other queer people

Because our words are ignored and our voices are made fun of;

Science has proven our validity and we are loud

And yet our voices are overdriven by a mistranslated text

Written thousands of years ago.

I want to stand up for those from other countries,

With other skins and other languages

Because their words and intentions are so often misread;

Their utterances are strong and true and their numbers many,

And yet an invisible border or cloth around their heads

Somehow make their peaceful purposes irrelevant and invisible.

I want to stand up for Breonna Taylor, 

And the many others that have fallen victim to police brutality

Because they themselves can no longer speak;

Peaceful masses gather to protests deaths

and yet they are considered riots and rubber bullets rain from the sky

And wash away the shouts for reform.

I want to stand up for those with disabilities and illnesses

Because a speech impediment doesn't undermine

the value of the words being spoken;

I want to stand up for so many

But because depression is more than just sadness

I can't even stand up for myself.