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sometimes, even when
you’re being truthful and sincere,
ripping your heart out
and stamping it with the language
of honesty and your authentic self,
with your intentions and purpose,
waving in front of you like a flag
or a gift,
or a gentle offering,
they still sit in a corner, nervous
and untrusting, because they have
been excluded and hurt too many times.
trust does not care about your intentions
or your words. trust does not believe
your performative alley-ship. trust demands
to see what you are willing to sacrifice and give up.
trust wants to watch you give up advantages
you’ve been rewarded by privilege.
trust knows you have the option to opt out when things
get hard. tiring. just too much. trust wants to see
you stick with it year-after-year: a life time and then,
maybe, trust will come and join you. in the meantime,
stop with the poems and the gestures.
amplify the silenced voices
open the doors to the tables
you have been afforded access.
if the system trusts you
then most likely the marginalised will not.