Political poetry: Don’t look away

Don’t look away.
Don’t you see me here?
You pretend that you don’t, but I feel your glare.
I was born in this world, just like you.
And believe it or not, I deserve a life too.
Don’t look away.
Don’t you see I bleed too?
Are you afraid that I might be just like you?
Do you see a bit of me inside of you too?
I see you.
You with your eyes that dart the other way.
You with your lips without a kind word to say.
Not to someone like me.
I know that you want to but please…
Don’t look away.
I know it’s easier to do.
Easier to look away than to admit that this could be you.
I could be you. You could be me.
No, you’ll just look away so that you can’t see.
Look at your phone, look at the wall.
Look at literally anything at all.
Anywhere except at us, at me:
Squashed like a bug under society.
Under the weight of demands, of poverty, of sickness.
Under the weight of this world; the weight of existence.
Here I am, spinning here with you on this great big ball.
Do you really not see me at all?
Don’t you see?
I could be you.
You could be me.
Don’t look away.

Photo credit: Mika @mikafinland

Originally published at https://www.courtneykcoaching.com on August 25, 2020.