“January 5th", Nicole Lu ’22

To my dark red leather. And she smiles at the dings, and I wonder how Someone can be happy in this stiff, dark Space with so much to lose; What could change all the way up on the Hill If this goes wrong. M Maybe she is too con dent, maybe My vote will counteract hers just as ey intended, drafting up documents in those Big, uffy pens, casting our virtues into Existence with darkness. e pin on her sweatshirt barks at me about How some lives matter more than others and It It, more than all else, sets her apart From me, an emblem of violence and chaos, Desecrated ags and destructive marches, A gilded sword stuck into our nation’s throat In its darkest times, Warriors who do not understand what they Are ghting for and renegades who do not Understand what Understand what change actually means. But then she laughs, and It sounds like Amy, like twinkling lights. We hang and forget every winter, forcing me To stop and think that maybe she could Be my daughter. I am here because of her and Her Future, but A At least some of it is for me, but even then, I Submit my desires to the others, listening to eir rants and their calls to action, and Sometimes, I act without knowing why, And it scares me. And now I am the warrior and the sword is in my hand, Leaving little particles of arti cial worth wherever I stand But th But they warn us not to stray from our purpose, and So, mechanically, I fall back in place, focus on an older Man three places in front of me, And start over. But it feels like a storm is coming.