how dare you
many times over, voices have told you so
riding from the border, gathered scars for life
I clutched their arms, looked into their eyes
nothing came back, just a dark glow
disappearing myself into the tent
I watched, your aides come and go
they had words, but action was painfully slow
tent to tent, a growing wave of dissent
I huddled under my red coat
and hoped, the specter would keep away
souls, soles of my shoes, were at an edge and in fray
the collective energy of phobia, became our moat
I moved, puppet like from camp to camp
plunged from home to home, city to city
reclaiming my tears, nurturing my capacity to be gritty
hardened veins, are key to survival as a tramp
hands held my shoulders, some held elsewhere
indifference was common, often humans were available
spaces I could never claim, dimensions that let me be reclaimable
endorsing that power in essence is an alienating affair
I turn sixteen today, and discard your political evil
pretence is the skin I shed, exposing flimsy layers of hope
in a world that retains a moral kaleidoscope
of life, encounters, and new beginnings after upheavals
I dare you to let me live again
I dare you to look into my tears
I dare you to bear being alone
I dare you to die without regret
Kashiana 