BY GLORIA O’KOYE
Triggered that we got people locked up
With the same actions
Other careers profits from
Triggered at trigger warnings,
Because where were they
When blocks got shot up?
Experience bullet symphonies played as lullabies
And wake up to the sirens….
Phone calls unanswered
Triggering
More triggered thoughts
It’s a game who gets more triggered by the trigger in playgrounds,
Kids be crying…
A funeral procession after silence
What is a trigger?
Our families ask…
Give definition
To be brushed off
As survival…
What doesn’t kill you,
Makes you stronger…
Even if you triggered
At every footstep around the corner
Triggered to cross the street
To avoid cat calls to name-calling.
Keep it on the low low
May soothe unwanted attention
Maybe skipping classes
Means resolving fights
And crossing out failures
Maybe the teacher that said
You won’t amount to anything,
Could be right
Because words can dig deep
From a position of power
What’s the message trying to convey?
Trigger warnings are a privilege
Depending if the environment
Holds space,
In most cases
Highly doubt it
Triggers may wear poker faces,
Triggers may remain discreet
Until the dirt burst out of carpets
Triggers come in all shapes and forms,
Expressed in ways approved by folks
And others are frowned upon
Just have to learn how to distinguish a trigger,
Before assuming trigger warnings
Will always get public applauds
