Unmarked

In the land of stars and stripes,

Where liberty is sung,

Shadows move in silence,

While justice holds its tongue.

No badge, no name, no warrant,

Just guns and hands that seize and bind,

In vans without a marking,

They leave no trace behind.

A father at the school gate,

A mother in the pew,

Dragged from life in broad daylight

What’s a soul supposed to do?

The lawyer said its legal power,

But power without a face

Is just tyranny in motion,

A ghost with bloody hands, erased.

And what of those who tremble,

Who flinch, who run, who fight?

Is instinct now a crime

When it sparks in the darkest night.

We teach our hearts to love,

To hope, to dream, to trust

But how can love stand steady

When the ground turns into dust?

Still, voices rise in sorrow,

In protest, prayer, and song

But who is left to record the echo

When the witness is long gone