We have hidden our faces for so long

In a world that wants our end

We are the whispering voices: barely overheard

And the corner-of-the-eye glimpse

Of what is not there

We are still here, as many as before

We occupy space in a world that denies our existence

Though we do it carefully, so carefully

Cautious in the knowledge

That hatred and those who hold it

Would see us destroyed

How strange, to be so hunted

For being

For breathing

For existing in this place

We hide our faces

From those who preach with poison

And those who protect with violence

Our words fall across still waters

Ready to rise up

In the moment that will come ~ Caroline A. Slee