NORMALIZED

There will be found a standing ground

a statement made without a word

a cry for ears to hear its plea

the final balance of words.

We are not invisible

to be forgotten or hidden

we are members of the same race

mental illness doesn’t cancel our place.

Our minds and our lives are not cursed

once we are mentioned you disperse

we cannot be fixed or cured

so we’re pushed to the side.

No longer. No longer.

Our voices will rise.

Our time has come, you’ve heard the rest

we’re first in line and it is you we will test.

A final point of discourse must take place

we are not subhuman, we’re members of your race.

(first appearance in MIGHTIER – Poets for Social Justice - edited 2022)