Under the Law

When my mother was born
In Canada
On January 12, 1924
She was not a person
Under the law.
She became a person
Under the law
In Canada
On October 18, 1929.
My father was always a person.

Ice So Thin

I find myself walking on ice so thin
Ice too timid to expose what goes on
Underneath the truth.
I tread lightly in an effort to placate your anger
Your rage
To mitigate that withering look you flash my way
The one that lets me know you are not pleased
And you are rarely pleased.
My courage
My sense of worth
Like ice so thin
Melt before they have time to shatter.
You make every effort to preserve that studied image of control
That practiced look of superiority and invincibility
The one that always cuddles up to your contempt
Transparent
Like ice so thin
Threatening to shatter before it has time to melt.
You give life to a lie
A lie so vital
So desperate
So contagious
That in my fragile need to be included in your life
To keep the peace at any cost
I choose to forget
That the lie is a mirror
Porous and unworthy of trust
Like ice so thin
Ice so thin.

Frosted Aurora by Kas Stone