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