Once we had faces

Once we had faces,

Black and White Imprints,

Serious & Daring & Passionate.

We wanted justice for wrongs done.

At times,

everything seemed wrong

like a clock that had stolen still

before the impending doom.

The unbearable silence

sketched in shadows of white&black whispers.

We cried out for justice for our daughters.

We defended their dignity

only to lose the battle at the very end.

We received economic concessions.

The comfort women cried out

but their voices were split out.

After a while, we became blind.

Soon, we became like everyone else.

It's so easy like putting on shoes.

Late at night, we wondered

with even-keeled tones,

"What did so and so mean by that?"

We detected hidden insults,

daggers of hate in silences

sealed with smiles.

We educated our kids to be leaders, 

shipped them off to the best colleges,

wanting them to shape the world, but they too

became linguists,

losing themselves in the sleep of words.