Field Notes: The City Stood Still

We were there. Cattled in.

Our voices carried. Drums echoed through the streets. A counter rhythm to theirs.

Given just enough space to move, but never enough to feel free.

They arrived under escort, wrapped in flags and certainty. Talking of sending people home. Talking of safety for women and children, while shouting across the barrier at the very women they claim to defend.

Crosses held high. Union flags cutting through the air. This is what they call patriotism.

To me, it feels like something else.
Faith twisted into control.
Identity narrowed into exclusion.

We stood. We witnessed. We answered back.