For the Flowers Never Watered

“I wrote this because I was frustrated. I was frustrated at the world and with myself. I felt silenced, I felt hurt, and I felt invisible. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry and shout and stomp and throw glass into a brick wall. I wanted to go to sleep. I wanted to curl up in the middle of my bed, as I was tucked into the darkness of a cave that I made out of my covers. I wanted to drift off into a deep long sleep. I was afraid. I was afraid for myself, the ones I loved and the children that one day I may or may not have. I am writing this to a black girl who hears me, who understands me, and I want them to know that I see you. I see what you are going through, and you don’t deserve to be ignored. You don’t deserve to be silenced.” -Sterling Wilmer