How To Turn What Must Be Turned

When they come for you,
when they take you down
or in, put you in the cage
or on the ground, slap you
or tase you or gas you,
call you their names
and steal your own —

when the consequences
come down at last
it may not be comfortable
or sweet, it will not be easy,
but you must recall

that they are slaves
to something — fear or safety,
anguish or tradition,
a past or a promised future.

It will not be easy
but it is the only thing
that may save you
from doing the same to them
when the wheel finally turns.