A person is holding a lit candle in the dark. The light from the candle illuminates half of the person's face.
TONE IT DOWN
By Adunni
Just the exact way you say it to remind us of outdoing the box,
An imposing call to order,
reminding us that we might just be doing too much.
After all, we paid dues with our heads buried under the waters
And dreams dying in thoughts.
Yet, we are advised to TONE IT DOWN!
Denying ourselves of existing at their comfort,
While we are made aliens in our birthplace, homes and even to ourselves.
They say, the more the normality, the better the acceptance.
We have been taught to
HATE who we are,
BE AFRAID of what we’ve become
and BEAT DOWN at anything that takes our form.
They say you do not have to be out and loud
but you, you… While you stay flourishing in the regretful corner of your heart,
your freedom is to impose restricting opinions on our expression of self.
For what we love, who we are, brings us together and so that same…
the same is the joy to exist differently and free.
How so sweet to consider our safety
but it’s not in our position to apologize
when they are not close to comfort with our lives.