The Day After

He Isn’t The Type | Elliott Wagner-Smith | Collage

The Day After by Maya Tarnoff

The gloomy day greets me with a smirk, and I sink back into bed,

With anxiety twisting my thoughts, and a fierce pounding in my head.

How many more deaths have there been since I fell asleep last night?

I try to tell myself that the world will somehow be alright.

Trudging down the stairs, I already hear the sad hum of the news station.

The riots at the Capitol yesterday have caused an unhealthy fixation.

We are not only mourning the loss of lives but the loss of democracy.

Frustrated, I shake my head at the law enforcement’s obvious hypocrisy. 

We marvel at the devastation and voice our frustrations,

Comparisons flashing through our minds between this and peaceful BLM demonstrations.

But near the end of a meeting to help us process, the reflection changes its tone.

They ask, how can you take this tragedy and use it to grow your own

Passion and commitment towards achieving justice and equity for all?

I think about this question, and grow just a little bit more tall. 

We should use this pain and anger and hurt for good, and we can’t let them win.

When this is over, our world will be better than it has ever been. 

We will use our passion to tackle issues from healthcare to climate change.

And we will raise our voices until we make our racial climate change. 

This is the silver lining to our tragedy, how we turn our grief into something great.

Whatever change will occur, I just can not wait.