Speak

There are times when you must speak.

When the words catch in your throat,

and you choke on the meaning.

Speak.

When you are filled with words

that lay on your body and bones,

weighing you down until you cannot move.

Speak.

When the words have welled up

from the pit of your soul,

and ripped themselves

from the foundation of your existence.

Speak.

When the silence has become

deafening in your ears,

and the state of the world

grinds your teeth, your bones, your soul.

Speak.

If you are afraid to speak,

you are wise.

For words have power,

and the effect of power is always

Unpredictable.

Your words may cost you friends or family,

they may take your livelihood or home.

They may put you on the street,

demanding poverty and starvation.

Your words may cost your life,

as they have so many others before.

If you are afraid to speak,

ask yourself the price of silence.

Will it be regret?

Will you look back on that moment,

wishing always that you had spoken?

If so, speak.

Will you wake in the dead of night,

that soundless moment ringing in your ears,

wishing always that you had spoken?

If so, speak.

Will the weight of the unspoken words lay on you,

burning holes in your soul, your sanity,

and crushing you into the depths of hell?

If so, speak.

Because the price your words exact

will be far easier to bear,

than the sacrifice demanded

by the deafening silence.