BLAZE
A hook
Latched onto my heart
And started pulling down
Down down
Into my gut
I followed this hook down
The chain crafted
Securely made
Of injustice
Tyranny
Forged out of the fire
In the souls of those
Oppressed
And beaten down
Into submission
The very people
Working in the heat
To make those chains
The flames
Flicking their legs
And arms
Burning the hairs
Searing the very skin
That brought them there
They labor
While we sit pompous
Unafraid
Unaware
Unwilling
To change
The chain lead me down
To the pit in my stomach
Filled with swirling darkness
And confusion
The pain they feel everyday
I feel just once
In a while
For a while
It’s easy to forget
Lucky as I am
As these terrors
Bring me no threat
I sit atop my privilege
Looking down
At the village
That built me up
Can I break it down?
Slowly
I climb that chain
Back up to my heart
My muscles strain
Against the weight of my body
Heavy with systems
That have been ingrained
Into my being
On my journey
Through gritted teeth
I find myself
Longing to carry others
Ones I’ve shamed in my silence
Ones I could never imagine
Faces strained in pain
And anger and passion
Subtle frustrations
My brain can’t fathom
Lifting up those
Who may not need me
But I wish to carry
We journey to my heart
Where the forces of my thoughts
Live and die in conflict
A battle continuing
And ever increasing
Guilt rules this battle field
But I will no longer succumb to it
I’ll wield it as my weapon
To remind me
Of what I’m lucky enough
To forget
I’ll use my guilt
To keep the fire lit
In the place my soul sits
A fire kept ablaze
By people
Who were born
With it inside of them
Blazing