STANDING STILL
BY LOVENY TOUSSAINT
I was standing still through it all,
A learned behavior held with animosity.
When age couldn’t postpone fated tragedy
And loss tied knots around every victory,
I decided I feared your silence
Even more than my own.
Were these lessons carved only for me—
To assure that you would always be my deity?
Even after death, the imprints of your casualties
Flow through every vein embodying me,
Markings only significant to you.
I was standing still through it all.
I know those ghostly commands came from you—
Through wounds salted over,
Through actions that left me condemned,
Through emotions that became assault.
I realized that life was never mentioned
When I learned to stand.
