When I Look at You
“When I look at you my beautiful friend, I see nothing but beauty and power and grace; and I am awestruck by the color of your wings.” — Heather K. O’Hara
When I look at YOU,
Tell me who’s there, tell me what I see?
Listen, me — I’d rather hide,
If there’s any place left,
I’d disappear, flee,
get out of sight,
Don’t really want to be eaten or caged.
When you look at ME,
Do you see a monster?
am I so strange?
Is it because your eye would rather find
all our differences and your mind
doesn’t look further and fosters
“hunter and prey”, this old paradigm?
But, you know,
I live here also,
I breathe, crawl, run, fly, I EXIST,
I would rather
feel what freedom is,
Your care, too, not the backstab,
Nor wires and fences, gates slammed shut,
Brother,
I AM here and I look back.
Anna Krasko 2023
This poem was originally written in Dutch (Als ik naar je kijk) and even has an musical component to it. I have translated it into English.
Thank you for reading ♡!
