17: safety

a poem a day

Safety.

I want safety
for every child
that sees the sting
of death and aggression of war.

I want safety
for the lands
that are cut up
and sold for profit.

I want safety
for those who are
told that their
presence doesn’t matter.

I want safety
for every woman
who walks home
alone at night.

I want safety for
every tree
razed to the ground
for economic progress.

I want safety for
our queer youth
who wonder if home
is really home at all.

Safety was never
meant to be earned,
was it?
WAS IT?

And yet, we treat it
like something the
privileged have
sacrificed for,

like the families we’ve
lost again and again
to the chains of
colonialism haven’t
sacrificed for it,
ached for it,
longed for it,
died in search of it.

Safety is a 
human right,
and we have forgotten.

Future generations,
forgive us.
We want more
for every single
one of you,
and we are
clawing our way
to get there. 

Photo by Chiara F on Unsplash