Apathy is the familiar tenant of our souls;
a feeling that we have come to accept and
to expect.

We feed it with our frustrations and
our exhaustion.
We care for it with our heavy hearts and
our impatience.

And Apathy paralyzes our better sense
When Apathy hears protestations of 'no!' or
the silent sobs of shame,
they fall quiet upon its ears.
When Apathy sees the too tightly cupped butt or
the aggressive cornering
It's eyes recognize, yet it says nothing.

It hears silence and it smiles.
It sees indifference and it chuckles.
It smells her fear,
it tastes his sweat,
it touches her torn flesh
and it rejoices.

With our silence Apathy buys strength,
from our indifference Apathy gains courage.
With our fear Apathy finds power and
in our isolation Apathy multiplies.

In return Apathy gives us
pain,
silence,
shame,
and lasting wounds.

We bleed,
and Apathy is the disease that keeps
us from healing.
We cry,
and Apathy is the pain that keeps
us hurting.

Yet when Apathy gives us victims, and we must
make Survivors;
courage makes Apathy draw back,
our shouts make Apathy go hungry,
our solidarity dulls Apathy's teeth and
our passion kills it.

We are all guilty of being silent,
of being indifferent.
And we are all guilty of being Apathy.