Don’t try to

silence my voice,

or hold down

my felt concerns

about the world

and the way that

things actually are.

 

I will not be shut down

and made to feel

that what I think

and what weighs

on this ordinary soul,

does not matter.

 

You might think

that you know better,

and that you are

wiser than all of us;

and with all your

well honed skills,

you believe that

you know more

than inconsequential me.

 

But I know

more than you think:

I know about the

very things that

make us human,

that create us,

and shape the

future that you

claim to understand

and to control.

 

Listen to me;

that is not a command

but a plea, a cry

to open your heart

and comprehend

that you can truly learn

if you are willing

to listen to me

and all like me.

 

And in my plea

I will not remain quiet,

for I will shout it out

and say that everyone

matters, everyone

that doesn’t fit the

categories with which

you see the world.

 

Don’t try to

silence my voice,

for it echoes

across inner and outer,

throughout countries wide

and communities thin.

 

Listen to me

and let’s create a

world of voices real,

of voices heard,

of voices understood,

of change true.

 

7/11/2016