How many more must be taken
before the weight crushes us?
How many little bodies
must be lowered into the ground
before the earth refuses to take them?

We are tired of candlelight vigils.
Tired of flowers wilting on cold pavements.
Tired of headlines that read like
they’ve been copied and pasted from yesterday.

Our sisters are bleeding.
Our children are hiding in cupboards
and under beds,
praying the footsteps pass them by.
Some prayers are not answered.

And still, the world asks us
to be patient,
to be polite,
to wait for justice-
as if justice can resurrect the dead.

What are you waiting for?

Be the hands pulling others from the fire.
Be the voice shouting victims’ names
so they are not forgotten.
Be the mothers. The daughters. The brothers.
The strangers who will not walk away.

This ache will not be appeased
with promises or speeches.
It will burn
until laws have teeth.
Until every woman and child
can walk home without fear.

Until then,
we will keep speaking,
keep fighting,
keep standing in the streets-  
our grief and our rage
beating in our chests.  
A heartbeat that says:
“Enough!”