By Esha Prabha
Buried within our chests lie shards of glass
But who shattered them?
Perhaps that answer no longer matters,
For the weight of pulling it out still rests on us.
Yet, tell me why don't you teach them?
Why don't you teach them to see through our eyes?
To feel the weight of silence we never chose?
Why shelter them in the dark
Yet expect them to feel our pain?
Do they not carry hearts within their ribs? Or have you convinced them it's a burden best left untouched.
The one you claim to protect from-
would wisdom not serve him better?
Why is the blame stitched into her skin
Even when the crime was carved by his hands?
Why does her voice transform in your ears as a threat?
Is the truth more dangerous than the violence of silence?
How long will you measure her dignity
By the fabric on her skin
By the choices she makes,
By a body she did not ask to be born into?
When will the weight of your rules crumble?
They will not bend until you admit they were forged in fear, not justice.
When will you allow us to simply exist
Without the tax of permission?
Man, woman or anyone in between
Who gave you the right to decide
Which lives are worth more than others?
Maybe the real question is:
Who stood silent
While you built the scales?