I am a polisher, so precise and delicate

I am a driver, so fast and patient

I am a floor scrubber, so strong and careful

I am a builder, so smart and stable

I tell people that I am as free as a fish in a whale,

Swallowed and eaten by life and its worries

I tell them that I am making a living while I'm dead

That I am unbreakable and broken

I tell them that the air feels heavier

That the sun feels colder

I tell them that the ground feels shaky

That the clouds seem bright

I tell them that the world lost its colors

Yet people keep painting

Pictures of lives not their own

I tell them that I am working towards the sweet taste of freedom

Towards learning how to use a pen

Because even though I don't know how to write

I can try again and again

To rewrite this nightmare.

I tell them that it's hard to do everything

While feeling like nothing

I tell them that a caged bird can't fly

That a snail can only get so far

That a slave is worth nothing

And that wishes don't work on stars

In this place of hypocrisy

Of opposites, lies, and scars

Chained to existence

Because of what makes us who we are

The color of our skin

Or the money we make, they say

That determines

Whether we have a soul or not

Whether we live or die

So they continue to take

What little they can

Of a crushed person's soul

Until there is nothing left

Anymore.