I am silent.
..........
You don't want me to be silent? Then I will talk more than anyone you've known before me, I guarantee.
I'll sell you anything! My soul, my mind, my being, my body.
Do you want my body? You can have it! I'll give it to you for free!
Please don't hurt me.
I'm sorry, that wasn't weird, was it?
Aren't we used to women speaking up against their cousins?
Their aunts, uncles, and mothers and fathers-
Their friends, and faceless men crossing the street.
It is no wonder our stares are stuck to our feet.
I have learned to be silent, trusting, soft-hearted, anything but strong.
I have learned that all females seem to sing the same song:
"Hello! How are you? Don't touch me." then, "Yes."
As if a boy can be the only reason you put on a dress.
Have we forgotten our power, or was it never really there?
We let men and the time of day have a say on what we wear.
To the Jury and the Judge, who is guilty in this room?
Maybe it was my fault.
And as I lie in bed, I can't forget the things he said, they're in my head-
And when his shadow looms over me... He insists what he's doing is alright...
But, even those words are the reason I still can't sleep at night.
I don't speak because of fear, and while I'm sitting here-
I can't help but think of all the ways I am silent.
Not defiant, never loud-
I look at the grass, the trees, the clouds-
I stargaze, I do yoga, I cheer you on until the end.
I'm polite, I'm scared, and you can pick and choose my friends.
I'm only pretty with my makeup, you remind me every day-
When I tell people I hurt myself, they don't know what to say-
and they are silent...
Just like me.
©poetic_peh
P