Sorry

I am from where we have to stop going outside 

Protecting ourselves and other people 

So we can have a taste of our old life 

And one day we can go out free 

breathing a new air.

I am from where we have to have to keep our distance

6 feet so we can protect our loved ones 

More than 6 feet feels every time we’re doing online school

The only escape that we have is our phone because we feel 

Like it’s the only way we can feel something
We feel stuck mentally, we have no motivation.

I am from separating ourselves from the world 

In real and social life, leaving them all behind 

Feeling like we’re alone the adults say that they support us 

But in reality they are killing us and our soul 

They say that they offer us help.

Help in something that we can’t understand not because we’re lazy but

Because they try to help us to improve but 

They are not really helping us dealing with this sadness 

And feeling more lost. 

I am from where people always take the things 

That we need to feel alive again to feel something 

Happiness not emptiness we keep trying to avoid the sadness

Because we know that it’s there and if it comes back 

This sadness, it would end up as bad as last time 

They tell us to tell all the truth but in the end 

They can tell us all the bad things that we have done 

To remind us how hurt we are. 

I am from where I have to keep things to myself 

And everytime I try to move on 

This sadness, comes back 

They enjoy reminding me that I’m not good 

Calling me things and saying what I did wrong 

And even when I call myself things 

When I start thinking i am not ok

When I know exactly what they have done to me 

And they have been the main reason the whole time

My mind can also betray me.

I am from where we can’t handle these things 

We can’t handle how they treat us

Like everything is going to be ok

But it’s not ok and it’s been so many months already

But we keep fighting 

We don’t want it to come back 

But the circumstances are making it harder 

It’s right behind us one more push and all that we built

Months ago will be gone with tears in our eyes and screams behind us. 

We just know that we don’t want to keep doing this 

We feel like we don’t have a life 

We feel like we can’t talk to people 

They keep blaming us for our phones

But we just try to talk to someone and feel good

Because we feel like we have lost everyone 

We’re tired of hearing their voices 

And hearing our thoughts telling us

That we’re just lazy

but we’re suffering 

with all this 

and we’re not ok with this. 

-Valentina Zambrano, Ecuador