Our Collective Tide
- breeannaksmith
- Apr 15
- 2 min read
My body knows no difference
to the headline on that article

or the attacker on my doorstep
I don't know if I can separate
that laws being passed
don't just slowly chip away at my rights,
but shred them with sharp claws -
As I read the bill it's like
I feel the claws sink their insatiable teeth
down the lining of my life force energy.
As I sit in my living room with my fish bowl window,
I feel like the lonesome fish in the tank too small
for her fins to grow to her potential.
The more news that floods my feed,
the more I sink deeper into my own terror.
The more I try not to avoid what's happening outside,
the more I crumble on the inside.
It took everything in me to feel brave enough
to go to that capital building up on the hill -
the one that has rows and rows of cherry blossoms
blooming this time of year -
such delicate and whimsical trees
representing such a terrible time
of keeping thousands of Japanese immigrants
in concentration camps
just a few short decades ago.
Trees planted as an apology.
As a peace offering to what happened that was so dark.
But what's darker
than the dirt those trees are planted from?
We trek our way up the hill,
Surrounded by laughter,
Of children,
Of dogs adorned in sarcastic signs
I knew my like minded people would be there,
What I didn't expect were the countless signs of
"Republicans against trump"
Of
"Mormons against fascists"
I didn't expect the hope
The connection
I didn't expect to be
Surrounded by a sea of people
Who know the ocean is only as beautiful as
The countless species
Existing freely
That make it so awe inspiring
My body remembering that terror cannot survive
In the vastness of our collective tide.
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