I APPLAUD YOU

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I applaud you
You who toil in the madhouse of the world,
I see your shadows
Exposed to the viral flames

You, who were always invisible
Silently killed by unseen forces
I applaud you
I am not you
I applaud you all the same

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It is you, on the margins,
Sustaining this broken time
Refugee, migrant. Your story
Always the same,

So, I applaud you, mothers and daughters
Sons of the earth, who feed us
Even as your suffering continues,
You're starvation but another day​​

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I applaud you,

Now from my balcony of refuges

we all now seek refuge too

In this locked down asylum,

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where distance is now our shield

But you now see us for what we are
Refugees without moving
Locked down, safe, depending on you

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So, I applaud you, with a silent chorus
Carried across the pure infectious air,

Breathe don't breathe
And I know you don't ask
To be celebrated like others,
Simply to be recognized

not a hero in our midst

But you, the disposable, the forgotten,
the wretched of history
What you contribute, remains a mystery
Yet in that mystery, the basic truth of life

I applaud you

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Brad Evans, 2020