Freedom
A word taken for granted by those for whom the plan included their opinions from the start.
I’m not just referring to the heart, but actual chains,
names of real people living in bondage
And upon this knowledge castles built of shame could be constructed.
We’ve instructed our young to be so burdened in a world uncertain
so that a little flirting might be all it takes to draw them in.
It’s not about the sin,
It’s about being loved.
They’ve been told they’re not enough.
And it’s rough living in a world where everyone is fighting to get ahead -
but you started the race 10 miles behind.
And some are so blind to their own precious worth,
that from birth they feel their place is not at the table.
Allowing them to feel unable, we enable wolves to approach as sheep,
seeking to keep these meek at the feet of those positioned as masters,
And the faster they are left aside, with undeveloped pride leaves them wide open for deception.
Interception at such a moment rarely happens, but it’s worth trying.
Children are dying.
We can hear the crying out if we let ourselves be open.
Beyond just hoping someone will do something, and seeing our own hands,
not overwhelmed by the demands, but allowing reprimand for our own inaction.
The movement gains traction. One life at a time, a step by step climb,
a wall that falls with just one brick - each tick on the clock it -
takes away from the pocket book of the machine.
Let me tell you what I mean:

Not trying to make you fear, but it’s worth shedding a tear,
Over 150 billion dollars per year for trafficking in people.
And if that seems steep, well, it is.

That’s mothers and kids. Fathers and grandparents.
People given clearance to work, and jerked around with no more rights than machine.
Pride picked clean to the bone by those sitting on the throne of documentation.
Nations built by turning a blind eye, without asking why,
because our children are fed, tucked peacefully into bed.

But humanity - our debt is in the red.

We must be stirred from our own slumber,
to hear the names behind the numbers.
The life you live is not as far removed as you think.
And it stinks, I understand, but our future demands
a world where all have rights -
where children still fly kites held on by string,
not knowing chains are even a thing.
So let’s bring this home.

If you can read or hear this - you’re empowered,
and those devoured by the system need your voice.
You have a choice. Move on as if you haven’t heard,
or let yourself be stirred. It’d be absurd to remain quiet.
As if you’d diet happily on moldy cheese. Please.
We should all be on our knees.

And as we stand we should demand that something change.
There are a range of ways to do,
but one thing they all have in common - you. And me.
Will we live in ways that help others be - set free?