A Safe Place to Breathe

Courage lives in my fingers.
I hold on my lips
the whispers of my ancestors.
These things matter.
A safe place to live
and breathe,
safe walls,
safe floors,
safe ceilings—
these necessities
belong to everyone.

We house ourselves
with faith,
believing in those
who build dwellings in the sky.
With closed eyelids, I see smoke
devour that safety.
There are eyes that see what needs to be fixed,
and there are eyes that ignore the bricks out of place.
When every floor of every tower building
has unwavering strength,
our vulnerable feet will have peace.