1- Forgetting to turn off the television before the 8'oclock news played was a mistake, and I guess that's what most of us are afraid to do: expose our children to the truth. We choose not to because they're too raw and too real for their cotton candy dreams, so we give them the storybook version instead. But what kind of story am I supposed to make up when what they see is another child their own age up there on the screen: bloodied, battered and bruised. It's a different story when they start to ask you questions like what terrorism is and what that child is doing there and mommy what if I end up there and when will dad come home?

2- Home. Home. Home. The word starts to lose meaning the more you repeat it and you're slowly starting to lose yourself because all you come home to are empty rooms and an empty heart but that's still better than an empty stomach right? Silly girl, it's all in your head. Think of the less fortunate, think of those with real problems. Those who feed off of pity for breakfast and tears for dinner.

3- The world is falling apart. The world is falling apart and we are building casts for ourselves out of its remains instead of fixing the broken because we are too afraid to break. Too afraid to cut ourselves on the same glass we killed them with because of the god they believe in or the pigmentation of their skin or all the unnecessary things we've punished them for not being able to control.

4- I am so sorry you had to be born into this age of terrorism, sexism, racism, and all the other –isms that god forbid I speak about in public because again it's too raw and too real for people to handle like sprinkling salt on a wound, only it's more like drowning you in it but let's keep it that way for the sake of simplicity and delicacy; I don't want to overwhelm you with the truth. But don't you worry it only hurts the first few times and you'll be numb before you know it.

5- We paint over their bruises for show; sure, we'll offer solutions for the refugees. Women's rights? Why, most definitely. Terrorist groups? We're working on that. We all know paint will eventually fade. Women are still being oppressed, children still seeking shelter, and thousands of people are vanishing into dust, explosion after explosion.

6- They tell you the first time: the monsters are under your bed. Then honey, they're just in your head. And finally, when you fear others and then yourself, it is then you realize what you've become but now it's about what you can be. They don't call them monsters for no reason. If you have the power to destroy the world, you have the power to build it back up. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was the hatred this destruction is fueled on which leads me to

7- Is hatred just the lack of love or is it merely a byproduct of fear? Or perhaps it is the fear of loving, and by this I mean the love and respect we should have for each other because I live in a world where 'feminism' is just another F word and disasters are relevant for about two days before another one settles in and god forbid I forget to turn the TV off again.

8- Trigger warning: violence. Trigger warning: gore. Trigger warning: real life events that may or may not traumatize you. Trigger warning: too real. Violence has become our second language and the more we practice it, the more fluent we become.

9- The Asian lady working night shifts at the corner store is your sister. The African American man who plays the guitar every Monday afternoon at the coffee shop is your brother. The Swedish girl who braids your hair at the bus ride home is your sister. And before you are a Muslim, a Christian, a Buddhist, African American, Middle Eastern, and many other labels that you let define you and shape you, you are a human worthy of respect, affection, and opportunities.

10- I'm not trying to change the world, I'm just trying to get you to open your eyes and look at the world without a filter without fear. To open your arms a little wider and be at peace with one another, regardless of any label society has imprinted onto your skin but you are more than just your skin.

10. It is up to you to decide how you want to write your 11. One shade does not make a painting, and one letter does not write a story. However, with our diversity in unity, we will be able to build a masterpiece.

11- This is not the end of my poem, but the beginning of your story.