When injustice is done

How can you understand,
The bloody tears of a nation,
Long oppressed,
Bound in invisible chains,
Trapped beneath the smiling facades,
We are duty-bound to fake,
How can you understand,
The lies of so many years,
Laid upon us,
Brick by brick,
An inescapable wall,
That held us in,
Unless we were the lucky few who had wings,
How can you understand,
When you were never one of us,
Never fought for love,
Of a country,
We were born and raised in,
Loved in,
Married in,
Lost in,
How can you understand our pain,
When we have buried it so long,
Because we were too afraid,
Too much of cowards to speak,
To stand up and be the one in flames,
Because to stand up was to be blamed,
To stand up was to be shamed,
Beyond all that I have done,
I wished I had the courage,
But I am but,
A,
Single,
Small,
Voice,
Stand with me,
And we will make a difference,
In the years to come,
We will shed our ignorance,
We will know of freedom,
And we will know of love,
For our country which,
We so often hold in contempt,
Thinking of her with such cynicism,
When in truth,
She is beautiful,
But not always so,
With the way she is worked,
How can you understand,
Our dashed hopes,
And broken dreams,
And parents worrying for a child,
Who will not leave be,
When she should,
Continuing to rebel against the norms,
Of staying put,
And keeping mum,
When injustice is done.

~Rei Shiori