Systemic

It is not lost on me.

The privilege
To be born
middle class
destined for an education
I learned to read
and write
and think.

That privilege is not lost on me.

That I am one of the lucky many
born white
in a country that denies
it ever had a problem.
Never had a problem.
"It's not a problem"
is a problem.

Lucky.
One of the many.
Lucky that I went to college.
Made it through the long nights
the seminars
the lectures
the awful food.
Made it through the fear of failure
and came out the other side
smarter,
wiser,
un-raped.
That I know what happened to me
was not assault.
misguided
and mutual
and regrettable
but not assault.

That luck is not lost on me.

I should not be so lucky.

It should not be luck
that determines how
and if we survive.

It should not be lucky
White
Safe
Surviving.

It should not be luck.

That it is, is not lost on me.