(ashes)

(ashes)

while the world burns
i wondered if i’m supposed to rise
and like a phoenix, heroic,
i’d take to the skies

but i was never given wings
nor the space to fly

i learned how to listen
from cracks in the walls
to dodge the deadly boot
with a stealthy crawl

alone, i agree,
i am vulnerable, small

but when we come in swarms
we storm the streets
we protect one another
from your lethal heat

we crawl and we chew
and we fight and we feast
strength in our numbers
makes for unlikely defeat

we’re classified as an intrusion
because you’re under the illusion
that we’re unwelcome
that we’re wrong

but we’re here to tell you that
we fucking belong

and it is your misunderstanding
that has you landing on hatred instead of love
it is your mishandling
that has you towering from above

because you think cockroaches a nuisance
a problem to be solved with control
but you missed the whole point of existence
which is to be variable
to come in all colors and shapes and sizes
to be true to ourselves without compromises

and the truth is that it terrifies you
so you terrorize us instead of owning your truth

you try to smoke us out or set us ablaze
knowing that we won’t rise like a phoenix with grace

because you snipped our wings long, long ago
couldn’t fathom a world where we’re all equal

but as we cry for ourselves and cry for our friends
tears put out fire, tears start to mend
the parts of us you broke when you tried to make us choke
but the joke is on you because we will not break

we’ll continue to march because our lives are at stake

so from the ashes i crawl because i don’t have wings
but cockroaches are formidable things

and we won’t let you claim “let freedom ring”
until it’s freedom for all…

so from the ashes we crawl

@paige.thepoet