I will show you fear
in a handful of dust,
in a forest full of burnt pinecones,
in a factory full of rust,
in a seafloor full of bleached coral,
in bag full of infant bones,
in a beach full of birds soaked in oil,
in a block full of bombed-out homes.
I will show you fear
in the eyes of a mother in a tent,
in the eyes of a seal on a shrinking ice floe,
in the eyes of a migrant on a jungle trail,
in the eyes of a rainbow-haired child backed to a fence,
in the eyes of a gazelle at a dry watering hole.
I will show you fear
and how to overcome─
when day after day after day twentyfour seven,
millions in the streets shout “Never Again
for Anyone, Anywhere, Ever!”
truth, community and courage can conquer fear.
I will show you fear
in the cankered corridors of power,
chattering at skull-strewn thrones
when those who have been bent to their terror
stand up, raise our heads, straighten our spines
the future will be ours to win.