You probably passed by me today,

And heard me singing “Oh say can you see.”

You see me right?

I’m not hidden; I’m in plain sight.

It’s easy to think “not in my backyard, that’s overseas.

America, no, that’s in foreign countries.”

Yet it happened to me, and I was just 13.

I was free, but then I was caught up in modern-day slavery.

But a child, I was robbed.

Where is my innocence? Where is my sound?

California, Florida, Tennessee.

What about Georgia? Atlanta, how did I get to this city?

I was alone. I was tricked. I was trafficked.

Snatched from the streets, now I am working the streets.

But, I am more than a holler, more than a dollar;

More than a pick, more than a fix.

I am more. I am human.

I am a life, part of a movement.

I am within reach, not overseas.

Am I worth saving? Am I worth rescuing?

I’m surrounded by darkness, in need of shining light.

Broken crayons still draw; Restoration is my hope in sight.