If I have to build a podium out of the countless accounts of experiences
that my minority friends have faced against racism
over the course of their lives,
I will.
And it would stand at least half a HDB high.
But—
I will not stand on it.
I have been far too privileged for the family I was born into and the race emblazoned on my skin
to even think about taking up the space
that they have created.
No,
I will stand beside.
I will lift my brothers and sisters up.
I will support them in claiming their megaphone
and I will cheer for them in choosing to pursue change.
I will amplify what they testify
and I will drive home the seed they have sown.
I will pick them up when they fall,
because no one stands alone if they want to stand tall.
Progress is not a flat pavement lined through the suburbs,
it is a long and winding road up the side of a mountain.
Recovery is never linear either,
and sometimes speaking out to change the way society thinks
can throw a bump in the road of your recovery.
I can’t promise you that you’ll be okay
because somehow, that is the unfair price you’ve been made to pay
Getting up on that podium and trying to motivate change
in the very systems we grew up in
can be terribly exhausting.
The looming anxiety of everything going wrong
walks hand in hand with the worry that nothing will happen at all.
But if we keep working together,
if we join hands and hearts in our efforts to push against the seams
one day
they will burst.
Our quest for true racial harmony is a never-ending one
but warriors need to rest and refuel too.
Do not worry, my friend,
we have fought this battle with you
and we will fight this battle for you.
Rest easy tonight.
They ain’t seen nothing yet.
Rachel Loy
Rachel believes that communication is the most important part of any relationship. She loves reading romantic adventures and uses poetry as an outlet for her thoughts and emotions.
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