How the Silence Eats You Up
Be quiet no longer.
biting your tongue has never been your strong suit,
but nowadays you feel you can’t say a word
without igniting a culture war—online or off—
to the point that you say nothing now.
but the silence is wrapped around your throat,
a necklace of needles ready to pierce you
with no thought to the consequences,
your vocal cords spun so tight they burn.
the worst is when you see a bad situation—
maybe someone being bullied or harassed—
and all you do is avert your eyes, not wanting
to cause a ruckus or make a scene.
but someday you will see something you can’t
ignore easily, and it will take every ounce
of courage you have to step forward and
keep the wrong from perpetuating.
“speak up,” they told you in school
as the other kids called you a mouse,
and maybe that’s fair enough because
look at the rat you have become.
but speaking out is a battle that faces
down each and every human in existence—
and the only time you really lose is when
you let the bad walk free and the good suffer.
you may be scared to say something now,
but imagine: if you watched the news tomorrow
and found out you let an evil thing happen,
then what would you think of yourself?
About the Creator
Jillian Spiridon
just another writer with too many cats
twitter: @jillianspiridon
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