A world unlearned

This poem is a collaborative creation by our authors: Emeryk Nowak, brothers Ilya and Aleksander Dovganyuk-Krym, and Katarzyna Dovganyuk-Krym of Sleepless Whispers.

Poem:

I saw a woman cry today,
her voice unheard – again.
How long since suffrage? Yet we stay
in shadows of what’s been.

A child’s dream, washed away,
by tides of adult greed.
We silence them, day by day,
ignoring what they need.

Equality? Ha! A joke we tell,
while bias thrives below.
In this world – our private hell –
hate’s seeds we daily sow.

R a c i s m
S e x i s m
A b l e i s m

(The list goes on, you know it does,
each “-ism” a wall between us.)

We dance this waltz of progress, yet
two steps forth, one step back.
I’m dizzy now, almost upset –
are we still on this track?

Why? (I ask, but no one hears)
Why do we let fear win?
Why does greed drown out our peers?
Why can’t we look within?

In the mirror of our days,
what reflection do we cast?
A hope for change? Or just malaise,
chained to an unjust past?

The ink of change runs dry, it’s true,
but blood – it flows still.
In streets, in time, in me and you,
a river against our will.

We built these prisons, brick by brick,
our apathy the mortar.
The lesson is there, if we’d pick
to be ignorance’s thwarter.

Earth screams now (can’t you hear?)
We argue while she burns.
Melting, drowning – the end is near,
yet no one really learns.

Indigenous voices, long suppressed,
try to break through our noise.
Their wisdom lost, their lands possessed,
while we play with our toys.

Rich and poor – a chasm wide,
grows wider every day.
How many more must fall inside
before we change our way?

M o n e y
|     |
|     |
P o v e r t y

Mental struggles, hidden deep,
behind our masks of “fine”.
The pain, the fear, the troubles sleep
beneath a fragile line.

Hope? It’s there, I think… I pray,
between the cracks of doubt.
But some days, I can’t find my way
to dig its essence out.

We hold the pen, the future waits,
blank pages yet unfilled.
Will we write of love? Or hates?
What story will we build?

ACT (please, act)
NOW (don't wait)
Before our tale
is written in
r
e
g
r
e
t

Inclusion, access, rights for all –
a dream we chase so slow.
We reshape the world, we install
ramps for minds to grow.

Faith and belief – twisted, used
as weapons in our fear.
When will we see we’re all abused
by hatred we hold dear?

I struggle on, day by day,
wondering if I’ll see
a world where all have equal say,
where all can just… be free.

We censor books, we hide the truth,
our minds closed tight like fists.
We rob ourselves, we rob our youth,
of knowing what exists.

The future looms, unsure, unclear,
as machines take our place.
Jobs vanish, skills disappear –
can we keep up this pace?

Online, the truth and lies entwine,
a web we can’t untangle.
Real or fake? The line is so fine,
our beliefs left to dangle.

Democracy shakes, trembles, quakes,
as darker forces rise.
Will we wake before it breaks?
Or watch its slow demise?

V O T E
|   |
|   |
A C T

These struggles bind us, threads entwined,
a tapestry of pain.
But in this weave, we might just find
the strength to try again.

For every voice they try to still,
I’ll try to shout out more.
For every right denied, I will
push harder than before.

The cycle is deep, I know it’s true,
but not unbreakable.
If I stand firm (and maybe you?),
we might be unshakable.

Here, now, I face my fears,
(or at least I’ll try to start).
I’ll hold to hope through coming years,
change beginning in my heart.

The power is here, within our hands,
to paint new skies above.
A future built on firmer lands,
of justice, peace, and love.

But will we use it? That’s the test.
The choice is yours and mine.
To break the cycle, do our best,
or let our chance decline.

I don’t know if we’ll make it through,
this task seems oh so vast.
But still I hope, and still I do,
dream of a better cast.

For in the end, it’s all we’ve got –
this hope, this chance, this choice.
To change the world, to give it shot,
to finally find our voice.