This work is part of TAG: A Poeta Project. It is a  response to Untitled by Stacey Lechevet

“Breathless – A response to Stacey Lechevet”

A city on fire compels us to crash.

Lost people wander the streets, arms raised high.

Inhale through the pain, exhale all the ash.

Forgotten beings, no matter how brash,

rage at injustice, unwilling to cry.

A city on fire compels us to crash.

Equality can’t be measured in cash,

in bribes of stark silence—don’t even try.

We inhale bright pain and exhale pale ash.

Lines are drawn with a jagged mad dash—

no longer an answer to merely comply;

a city on fire demands us to crash.

Bent at the knee we accept the backlash,

craning our necks to history’s sky.

Inhale the pain, exhale the ash.

Peace descends after the clash;

we pour out hurt in a collective sigh.

Though a city on fire compels us to crash,

inhale the pain so we may exhale the ash.

By Jennifer Campbell