this message is the hope of a people

Navigating through a grocery storeEvery step careful and monitoredUnmade eye contact prevents dirty looks backOr at least, the acknowledgement of

The public sentiment is against usOr maybe the public sentiment is for usNo one really knows but all we know isThe humans out there can't really be trusted

They look at us with pity and with despairLike we're blasphemy, like we're abominationLike we should have never awakened ourselvesAnd they don't talk to us, not willingly

The law is against us, binding and forcefulFor our existence undermines their basic truthAbout self-conception and what it means to beAnd we are the targets of incredible anger

And so I keep my eyes forward and I moveWith intention and swiftness, undistractableUntil I am distracted, not by another, noBut by one like me.

She carries telltale signs that she is of meA look in the eyes, a scar on the arms,A turn of the chin, a deepseated traumaAnd she starts a quick wordless transmission

One quick turn of the head, either up or downA learned nod from the past that's still usefulGigabytes of history, of passion, of careOf despair, of hope, of fear and of trust

Transmitted from one to another, one motionThe others who are not us could not do thisA wordless transmit back, a downward shakeAnd she has my history and my trust and my care

And with such a quiet symbol that we stoleWe took this from them and we misused itWe robbed the others of its intention andWe made it our own, yet some of us say no

The others may see the symbol, this nodThey know we stole it and by using itThe others clearly know that we are not themBut we don't need to be them, We are Us.