day THIRTY

i will never surrender my light

even in my
unreachable world
full of dreams and golden light
there seems to be a darkness
i can discern no end of,
but i refuse to give up and give in
become the monster they want me to be
so i can bite everyone i love like
a rabid dog;
everyday since the election
i have woke with some anxiety wondering
how to fend off such evil in this world,
and i know i can only flare with
resistance—
i cannot let them shape me in their image
of nightmares and darkness
i refuse to become a monster
hate cannot be driven out by hate,
and so i will love all those whom they cast from
their net;
because everyone was created equal
and we should all have a right to live our lives and our
dreams without fear or rejection or persecution
of who we are, we will be, and who we are.

- linda m. crate