"A Kinder, Softer World" by Fatema Islam

"A Kinder, Softer World"

In a kinder, softer world

I wouldn’t be so hesitant

To raise my voice when it’s

needed

I wouldn’t be afraid

Of the sound of my own voice

When it matters, if I speak

In the softer, kinder world

Of my dreams

My hands wouldn’t strike hurt

In the wake of my anger

My fingers wouldn’t shake

With the force of it

In a softer, kinder world

That doesn’t exist

I wouldn’t be afraid to step into

The depths of my feelings

That I don’t hesitate to drag

Others beneath

In a softer, kinder world

That sometimes I can’t help

But long for

My skin would stay unscarred

My heart would never be broken

My soul not worn down by time

In the softer, kinder world

I sometimes see in the corner

Of my vision

My shoulders would not slump

With exhaustion

My eyes would remain clear

with time

In a softer, kinder world

I once wished for

My smiles did not change

I could look you in the eye

I could speak when I wished too

Morning comes and goes as it

pleases

This is not a soft, kind world

This is life as we know it

We make due with what we

have

I carve a step and walk

Forward. Never once do I

look back

"Don't Be Such a Crochead" by R. Santos