Unfurling Banners, Shadowed Chains Poem by Bernard F. Asuncion

A declaration etched in ink and in stone,
Rights whispered softly yet fiercely well known.
A birthright claimed in every newborn's cry,
A universal truth beneath a boundless sky.

But banners unfurl with promises bright,
While shadows lengthen obscuring the light.
The chains of injustice they bind and they hold,
Stories untold in whispers grown cold.

A hunger for justice, a thirst for the free,
Yet walls of division for all eyes to see.
The echo of voices suppressed and denied,
A symphony broken where truths often hide.

Where lines are drawn sharply and borders divide,
The essence of being is often denied.
A question hangs heavy in hearts filled with dread,
Are rights just a concept or truly widespread?

Can empathy blossom where hatred takes root?
Can justice prevail where silence is mute?
The challenge before us, a burden to bear,
To mend the frayed fabric and show that we care.

For human rights whispered must thunder and roar,
Till every soul's worth is acknowledged once more.
And the promise we carry in heart and in hand
Becomes the true anthem of every free land.