​Don’t tell me to calm down.

I am not here to listen to you 

or anyone. It’s easy to forget

grief that isn’t yours

but my wounds are still fresh

and if you love me, I beg you,

take all of me, raw and bleeding.

The peace you crave is hidden,

suffocating, silenced

behind the flag of a country

that has failed me. How can I

breathe through these ashes?

When all that I know is

going up in fire and fury?

My own love used against me,

bottled up and thrown, a home-

grown Molotov cocktail, and you say 

I’m crying too loudly. Don’t you see?

I will scream until my voice goes

and sing until it shakes.

Don't tell me to calm down.

I'm happy you're happy,

but that happiness ain't

welcome here.