Of, By, For, To

Part One: “Of the People”

Let a symphony of voices form a cacophony so loud

God themselves won’t be able to ignore our 

grief, our

sorrow; the shattered fragments of our hearts

stabbing and straining our vocal chords so that when we speak

the world can hear our pain. Each chord 

created, each lyric 

sung will hold meaning so deep that language will know

no boundaries, for what is the common human language

if not love?

Part Two: “By the People”

Allow the preamble of “We the People” ring true once more because

God forbid the world needs to be taught a grammar lesson - 

“We” : pronoun, referring to multiple people

people who share hopes, dreams, futures

people who are bound by fear, thorns gripping around the stomach 

drawing blood from the fragile ribcage, anointing

the next generation with the pain of humanity’s history. It was

never their burden to carry, but scars resemble battles

both victories and failures, so maybe 

their burden will become their greatest source of strength as they

learn the lessons we were too ignorant to face ourselves.

Part Three: “For the People”

To serve the greater community and in turn the greater world

so that we never read a history book and say

“Why didn’t we learn,” grieving the past that was and

the future that could’ve been. Breaking the glass wall so hard

it rains down those who doubted and maybe

their blood drawn from a woman’s success

will remind them of their fragile mortality and how 

everyone alive bleeds the same shade of red

the same shade that stains my vision every time

my voice is lost to the wind of misinformation and miscommunication.

Part Four: “To the People” 

Do not be afraid 

to show emotion and to show your soul 

to allow your thoughts to run wild and 

to allow your voice to speak the things kept silent for so long. 

Do not be afraid

for the hardest problems create the best solutions and

while perfection will never be achieved, never stop trying

for a better world and a place where we can tell our future daughters

that our hard work and our fighting and our commitment and our sacrifices

came to fruition at last.

Do not be afraid

to swim against the current and risk drowning 

for a cause that yanks the strings of your heart 

your logic a puppet to your emotions; rather,

force the two to collaborate so that 

the women of your family tree who gave up their talents to please society

will smile upon you every time

you open your mouth and

fight.