I have a secret.

The rain doesn’t bother me

as much as I said it does.

I am not one of Satan’s spawns,

my skin doesn’t glow red

except at midnight,

and my hands crave no evil.

Don’t let the rain fool you.

Does it chill you like it chills me?

I am trapped inside this bubble—

let me free.

I see the news unfold,

I can’t breathe.

Is it better to be trapped?

Better to fall in line,

slip into the crowd,

hand on my head,

thumb between teeth,

doe-eyed, docile?

They know nothing of survival.

They’ve never tasted

asphalt on Devil’s street.

They don’t know what it’s like

to be us.

They shove us back and say,

“Don’t fuss.”

Stay in your bubble,

swallow the rust.

I am trapped in this bubble—

let me free.

I am suffocating,

I am dying—

I beg you, please.

I want to run,

there’s so much left to see.

I want to escape,

I want to breathe.

I want what was promised,

what I deserve,

what we stand for—

Peace.