Regrouping

do you ever get the feeling
where your body goes completely still
your mind completely silent
nothing feels quite right –
similar to dysphoria but in a way more intense
and you just sit or stand
watching or listening to something
regardless of it being the news or just the world
and at first
you have no clue how to react?

to every kid that has died in a school shooting
to every kid that has been traumatized in a school shooting
to every woman who just got their rights to their bodies taken away
to every person who has been denied health care
to every person who now has a mountain to climb every time you try to vote:

I am sorry.
this should not be happening
we should have our rights
regardless of what they may be
regardless of which ones you might be passionate about

we're all human
and yet
sometimes it feels like with the rights I have being taken away
I feel less and less humane every day

they're degrading us
one by one

but we will come back
and when we come back
we will be stronger than ever before

they may have won this battle for now
but we will win the war for human rights