POLITICAL Poem: Banned But Not Forgotten, by Amy Vile Junod

Storm the school, burn the page,
Call it safety, call it sage.
Fear wrapped tight in whispered lies,
Erasing stories, dimming skies.

They sift through shelves with hateful hands,
Searching spines for contraband.
As if a book could twist a mind,
As if the truth should stay confined.

But love is not a secret shame,
Nor something small enough to tame.
No ink, no voice, no life is wrong.
We’ve all been here, we all belong.

No more silence, no more fear,
You can’t erase what’s standing here.
For every book you torch and toss,
Ten thousand voices bear the cost.

Let echoes shake these hallowed halls,
Let the tower begin to fall.
Love will rise from ash and ember,
Burning bright so you remember.

So light your flames, go on and burn,
For every story, we return.
We are the whispers in the walls,
The voices in the winds that call.

Truth is a thread you cannot unwind,
Strength stitched deep, a power divine.
You cannot bury what won’t be chained,
For love will rise, unbowed, untamed.

We are the spark that lights the dark,
The beating heart, the lasting mark.
You cannot erase what you can’t claim.
This love will burn just all the same.