I get up in the morning because I’m angry

Angry at the world, angry at the people in it

Angry how the color of someone’s skin determines how they’re treated

Angry at the people who say that someone’s ability is all tied up in something that means nothing in relation to the issue at hand

Angry how saying I’m a woman somehow means I can do less,

or that I can’t be bad at cooking,

or that my clothes and hair can make the news faster than the words I say,

and yet a man can brag about how he can’t do normal things because his babe will bring him a sandwich instead

Angry at the branding in media that associates strangeness with evil and emotions with weakness and strength with violence

Angry how stories are either written for girls or for everyone,

because boys won’t like a “girl” book but everyone loves a male hero

I’m angry

 

I get up in the morning because there's beauty

Beauty in the sunrise at the chilly bus stop

Beauty in how seeds can become giant trees whose leaves change color

Beauty in all of the little things that people do for each other,

how we are a social species

and show love in the strangest ways by holding an umbrella

or giving a rock that reminded us of their eyes

Beauty in how ice can turn trees into a winter wonderland practically overnight

as everything suddenly glitters on the morning drive

Beauty in the miracle of life,

and how it continues and grows even in the harshest places

Beauty in how somehow a resolving chord can lead me to relax tension I didn’t know I had

There's beauty

 

I know why I get up in the morning

I need to fight against the things that anger me

because while these things still exist our world is broken

I need to fight for the things that are beautiful

because without these things there’s no point in fighting

I know why I get up in the morning

Do you?