The Strangest Stranger

They say a stranger from far away fired my home.
They do not see,
the fire has long been burning inside my walls,
consuming our being.

The truest stranger lives inside my house,
rules behind our doors,
decides how we speak,
what to believe,
how to be.

It has kept our clocks for forty-seven winters,
this household foreigner,
the strangest stranger,
has buried our voices in silence,
answered every question with a fist.

It stole freedom,
life,
liberty,
and the fragile light of hope.

It took our books,
our history,
our language,
our culture,
our coins,
but something else too:
our fear.

We have no fear left.
There’s nothing left to lose.
We have no life to lose.
We cannot die more than this.

You ask if wishing for fire is easy?
Look where we stand,
to wish for fire,
even if it burns us too.

If we survive the fire,
we’ll renew our beloved house.