A Litany For Survival ... By Audre Lorde (The Black Unicorn)

For those of us who live at the shoreline
Standing upon the constant edges of decision

Crucial and alone

For those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice

Who love in doorways coming and going
In the hours between dawns

Looking inward and outward
At once before and after
Seeking a now that can breed
Futures

Like bread in our children's mouths
So their dreams will not reflect
The death of ours

For those of us
Who were imprinted with fear

Like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
Learning to be afraid with our mother's milk

For by this weapon
This illusion of some safety to be found
The heavy-footed hoped to silence us

For all of us
This instant and this triumph

We were never meant to survive

And when the sun rises we are afraid
It might not remain

When the sun sets we are afraid
It might not rise in the morning

When our stomachs are full we are afraid
Of indigestion

When our stomachs are empty we are afraid
We may never eat again

When we are loved we are afraid
Love will vanish

When we are alone we are afraid
Love will never return

And when we speak we are afraid
Our words will not be heard
Nor welcomed

But when we are silent
We are still afraid

So it is better to speak
Remembering
We were never meant to survive