meshikiyang.com

A lament for all who keep showing up in a world that chooses not to notice when we bleed.

Am I not Human too?

A body that bleeds,

A mind with dreams,

A heart that feels.

How easy it is for people, for systems built on convenience and comfort, to forget that.

How easy to treat someone who has shown up consistently, excellently, generously as if they are disposable.

To take the labour, the ideas, the integrity and erase the person. And still expect their performance, smile and silence.

The Swallowing of Hurt

Blend in, keep your head down.

Shave off the bits that make you stand out!

Don’t be ‘the victim’.

There is a particular sting in public disregard. When the disrespect is witnessed, when you can see them seeing it and still they say nothing.

• ‘Friends’ who prefer the safety of quiet.

• ‘Allies’ who choose convenience over courage.

• ‘Supporters’ who want your brilliance but not your burden.

A System that Demands Excellence

It demands competence but not your truth or imperfections. Your presence but not your personhood.

It requires you to keep showing up as your best self while offering you the bare minimum of human dignity.

And yet, you are expected to pretend that doesn’t hurt.

Show nothing that is uncomfortable!

Just be grateful you got this far.

A system that:

• demands more from those it undervalues,
• benefits from your work while erasing your name,

• expects resilience while offering no psychological safety,

• calls you “friend” but won’t stand up for you,

• asks you to be grateful while taking more than it gives back.

This is the existence of far too many in this world.

A system that needs the best of our humanity without acknowledging the cost to our humanity.

A deep, bone-level ache, when those who should speak choose proximity to power over solidarity.

They want to be associated with you but not aligned with you; to bask in the glow of your integrity without carrying the responsibility of defending it.

That betrayal cuts deeper than the system itself.

• The hurt,
• the betrayal,
• the rage.

All evidence that we are human.

• That we give more than we have received.
• That we have been operating at a level others rely on but rarely reciprocate.
• That loving a world that does not love you back is its own kind of grief.

And still we show up.

• We bleed.
• We feel.

We remain human in a world that keeps forgetting what that means.