Hello unfamiliar;
I don’t know you at all
and yet I know you all too well.
You’ve got that same look on your face;
just like mine.
Somewhere between defeat
and supine
and that same posture
caused by the curve of your spine.
You’re bearing the weight
like I’m bearing mine.
How long
do you think you can hold out?
You’ve held up this long,
impressively.
Stand next to me.
You could be my mirror,
expressively;
you’re just like me.
I bet you think
you’re just going to get out
from your heavy burden
any day,
but you keep on taking more and more
and you’ll be breaking anyway.
Never thinking of yourself,
but maybe martyrs
are just selfish
after all.
We all want to be remembered,
but the martyrs
want to be the ones who gave it all.
There’s nothing selfless
in self denial.
Self evisceration,
self obliteration;
takes its toll and makes us
just another racist,
just another hatred.
Holding up a burden
makes you a post,
not a hero.
So, put it in its place,
it’s time for us to face
the fact we’re just wasting
our energy.
We should be
facing our enemy.
Anyone with eyes can see,
yours looks like you,
mine looks like me.
So put down your load,
it’s time to see
which is the better part of me.
HG – 2017
