Freedom Poem by Makayla Johnson

I can taste it
in the air,
it soars above me
out of grasp.

I can see it
in my dreams
I can hear it
coming near.

Here it comes
so close to me
here it is
and gone again.

Have I lost it?
Did I have it?
Did you see
where it went?

Look again
far outside
see it there
in the sky?

Above my head,
fingers outstretched
and clawing at the air,
reaching for it there...

Can you hear me?
always calling,
always screaming,
do you feel me?

See it over there
feel it rush on past,
always miss your chance
left lying in the dirt.

Scraping,
fighting,
raking,
biting,
breaking every bone.

Waiting forever,
watching and never,
never finding
just what you're waiting for.

See it pass you by,
watch it fly away,
watch it as you lie
decaying in the mud.

Watch it never come.
Watch as others flaunt
undeserved findings
in your face.

As you scrape
and rake
and claw
and never ever reach.

And watch it fly away
on the wind
like a bird
and without
a single care
and without
another word
It's gone.
And never seen again.