I step forward. “Where are you from”
“Earth”. But that’s not enough.
I’ve seen it. I’m seeing it. I saw it all.
How humanity is destroying their kind
Picking and choosing
Between whom is deserving and who isn’t
Picking and choosing
Between bombs and gaz
A vicious circle, picking and choosing
Between a mother and her children
We look at the sky
And wish on shooting stars
Shining so bright, they fall like fire
Crash like thunder
Some stars explode before they even touch the ground
We grew up looking at images of happy families
Happy kids running around,
Stepping on free territory.
But we didn’t know that peace was a privilege, not a promise.
That some childhoods come with open fields
While others come with open fire.
We didn’t know that laughter was a luxury.
A baby doesn’t choose which soil they cry on
Bombs don’t ask for passports before they fall
A child’s bedtime story should not be sirens
And still, we are grinding our teeth
For the day the fences will crack open
Just enough to let us slip through, stride until mirages turn into mountains
Feel the soil beneath our bare feet
With the threats of shooting stars above us
But what is more threatening
The fire that pours from the sky
Or the hands that built the borders below?
The silence after the sirens
Or the voices that choose who gets to call this home?
Let the lullaby be the laughter of peace, not fear.