How does it make you feel?

Violent crime.

How does it make you feel?

When I watch the news on the TV

With my brothers and my parents

I feel a strange dread grow in my stomach

Getting bigger and bigger

Until it might explode out like a butterfly from a cocoon.

When I read a newspaper

Scanning the columns for any shred of positivity

I feel hopelessness sweeping through my body

Images and words of upset and hurt covering every page

Until there’s noting else in there

When I listen to the radio

And the song stops and people start talking

I just feel disappointment press against my chest

Crushing my heart

Until I can’t handle it any more

When I walk down the street

And I glance over my shoulder

I feel shivers run down my spine and to the tips of my toes

Making my muscles tremble

Until I want to run away and hide

When I hear people talk about violence

And the way it affects my local area

I feel ashamed and lost

Because people should have more thought for others

And I just want to change the way things are

When I pass a gang in the street

And I hear them shouting and swearing at others

I feel fear rush through my veins

Taking over everything else

Until it is the only emotion left in my body.

But

When I think about my future

And the things that need to change

I realise that things can be different

And that violence doesn’t have to be a part of my life

If people will only listen.

When I think about my future

And the future of those around me

I feel motivated to make a difference,

To fight against the things I believe are wrong

And I know things can be ok.