Quiet isn’t consent

i learned 
life liberty 
the pursuit of happiness 
before i learned 
how often a promise 
can hesitate 

no one mentioned 
how often you’d have to prove 
you deserved the words 

i’ve learned on my own 
there are places 
where i soften my voice 
where i let people assume 
something easier about me 

it works 
and that makes me angry 
in a quiet way 

no one taught me that part 
of the experiment 

i don’t think the declaration lied 
i think it promised too soon, 
before it understood 
how selective belief can be 

equality sounds simple
until you ask
who gets to move through a room
unchallenged

liberty feels clean
until it depends
on who’s watching

happiness
is the strangest part
something you’re told to chase
but never slow down for

maybe the experiment isn’t failing
maybe it’s just honest
about what it still refuses
to give freely

i want to believe
those words were written
for breath
for bodies
for voices like mine

no one told me
they might not be.