Rising

You have no concern for me
I learned that the hard way
Today.

I refuse to yield,
To forgo myself for your pleas
I refuse to give,
More of myself for successes
That no longer apply to me.

Instead, I'll scream at the top of my lungs
This is me, not nameless, not faceless
This is me.

You can make us generalizations
But by blood we are bound
And we are one, and one, and one.
You can't escape the truth of what's been done

Whether allegiances are here or there
You had to choose
And no one is blind
Even you.

But I refuse to yield,
To give myself,
To surrender,
More of me

Because this is all I have
I am not nameless, I am not faceless
Look at me!
I am fearless, I am tameless
This is me.

-Noemi Garcia Rigsby