(a 15-minute writing practice)

The in-human condition

Tired of this
Tired of screaming for help
For truth
For clarity
Tired of screaming into the void

I’m so conditioned,
so used to being screamed at,
that—
when you speak calmly,
it feels like I’m being spoken down to.

So in response, I—scream at you.
I at you
You—who is trying to help
You—who is trying to survive too
You—who is trying…
to hear truth
and see clarity.

just like me.

I at you
—I’M SORRY.

But don’t tell me that’s okay,
Don’t tell me that it’s normal—
that you’re just being cordial,
don’t validate my torment with soft sentences or gentle parenting.
Because I don’t need that.

Loud is normal
Violence is normal
Screaming is normal
Torment, torture, treachery is…
Normal

The world I’m living in has become normal—
But it shouldn’t be
IT SHOULDNT BE
And so changing that—
has to start with me.

I to me
Deciding how long it takes until
Me flip to the W — WE —
WE DECIDE
To stop tolerating normal
And stop enabling and start fighting
This in-human condition.