Silences

___________________________

I thirst so I drink

I hunger so I eat.

But what of the silences?

The times we do speak.

Now a days so many words

are BANNED - left unspoken,

made Taboo by those so very

unlike me and you.

So many silences to be broken

Is freedom now a taboo subject?

Has fear replace logic?

I will admit, I am afraid, yes.

So many thoughts in my head,

unsaid -- I regret my silences

my brief affair with restraint

a temporary dalliance

with holding my tongue in a war

that has began yet is ongoing

with words that used to be

overflowing.

Equality, Elderly, Diversity, Women

words that have been threatened

words they want to remain unsaid

words they try to imprison

inside our heads.

Of all my lives past mistakes

I most regret my silences

because the fact that they must

be spoken is not a idea, propaganda

or an outdated notion.

Don't you see, they fear us

because they fear the visibility

we each need to live free.

The world sits waiting for

fearlessness

while being choked by fear itself.

Voices swallowed up by tyrannies

while waiting for someone else to

fight the good fight.

Silence be damned

we must scream with

all our might.

They're betting we'll be quiet

and obey their every choice

but it's time to stand up

to the tyrannies and have our

own voice.

I write this as a neurodivergent,

elderly, lesbian poet. I'm not a

freak, a spectacle or a token

but as a person silent too long

so please:

Listen up! Silences must be spoken!

___________________________