When the soldiers came, everything changed:
They brought with them
Their tanks that crushed our fields,
Their guns that shot our animals,
Their torches that burned our homes,
Their prisons that held our people,
Their weapons that ended our lives.

First they came for our elders,
Killing them
For what they represented:
Age, wisdom, a future.
I said nothing.

Then they came for our brothers,
Stealing them
For what they could do:
Working in their camps and servicing their mines.
I said nothing.

Then they came for our fathers,
Working them
For what they knew:
Scouting the land, navigating the mountains.
I said nothing.

Then they came for our mothers,
Taking them
For their skills:
To keep them clean, to keep them fed.
I said nothing.

Then they came for our sisters,
Using them
For what they were:
To keep their beds warm, for pleasure.
I said nothing.

The they came for our children,
Holding them
For who they were:
To keep our families working, to keep them compliant.
I said nothing.

Then they came for me,
For I was the last:
The only one not taken.
And I said nothing.
For I am mute and my cries went unheard.