Me. You. Her. Him. Them.

Born into a system that doesn’t love us unless we look and act a certain way.

Rules that aren’t real, wounds that won’t heal.

A world where status and money are such a big deal.

We fight for the right to exist as we are. The bold and the beautiful, the broken and scarred.

Everything divided between the right and the left.

“Leaders” created through glorified theft.

Hemming and hawing while stomachs are gnawing and backs are breaking at jobs that don’t pay.

Babies are crying and mommas are trying to do the best that they can.

There’s a life out there where folks aren’t scared and we have all that we need.

It feels far away, but the kids still play and show us that joy is real, indeed.

The sun has been shining, the ground has thawed out.

Buttercups and bees are scattered about.

The clouds are just floating; the trees start to sway.

Here in this moment, life feels okay.

The chores are calling, but I choose to stay.

Stand still in this moment, this body, this yard.

I try to comprehend what is so damn hard about loving your neighbor, and hugging your friends, or giving a stranger a smile.

We’ve become so accustomed to hate and division it’s like we’re just waiting for permission to feel and be nice, to have fun while we’re living, and loving and giving our light back into the world.

We can choose to do good, and I think that we should.

For us and for them, so we’re not all condemned to life full of sorrow and hate.

We’re not promised tomorrow; there is no set date; who knows how much time we have left.

So, love on your babies, your neighbors, your friends.

Get happy, get loud, get angry, be proud.

YOU be the good and give it your best.

Afterall, we’re just sentenced to death.