The Arrogance to Be Alive

“…for by this weapon this illusion of some safety to be found the heavy-footed hoped to silence us For all of us this instant and this triumph We were never meant to survive.” -Audre Lorde

I dip my toes into some of the clearest blue waters I have ever encountered.

I look down and see the outline, the shadow of a woman.

I am safe here, yet I am haunted by the rough hands of police officers and a mugshot that is a death shot. Not even the final moment, but an image of life long exited from her body.

I am safe here. Yet what is safety?

I dive into the clear blue water, eyes stinging from the rush of salt water, body rocking with the waves of the sea.

And the sky is cloudless. It is not marred by a single cloud. Its expanse is as far reaching…