Inhale Exhale

By Claire Gelillo

Every day’s a new day

New horizon but the same fate

We the people

But we the weak

We the ones who can’t take the heat

We the ones who stand for the machine over the man

The man over the woman

The abuse with gun in hand

Face over body after body

After body

Aftermath

After the fact that we’re struggling just to stay intact

Then we take flight

We breathe and let it go

But we know

The bright light

Is just a reminder of all we failed

It’s the end of a tunnel that we can’t seem to escape

But the bones crack and break

Under pressure

We rise and we fall

The last breath in the high school hall

We inhale with no exhale

We feel the heat

We stand shoulder to shoulder

But what solution do we meet

We write the letters and cry the chants

But we fall at their feet

We beg for a chance we never had

And maybe we’re glad

Because what excuse do we have

We drank the last drop of hope

Last time we heard of mass destruction

Mass killing

Mass eruptions

Of the things we can’t control

And they call us bold

For saying that something’s wrong

But then hang up the phone

They put us down lock us up

Chain them up

Hands up

Until not a hand remains raised

And we boil with rage

Nobody left to stir the pot

But the cries remain

Ringing out into the night

Not a second to waste

But we breathe

Inhale Exhale

Another body on the ground