Your Silence, Your Speech

Your silence,

Like bees swarming around me, ready to prick

Me.

Your silence,

Like roaring waves engulfing cities, ready to drown

Me.

Your silence,

Like a bang from the barrel of a gun, whistling bullets, ready to pierce

Me.

And when you speak

Your volume looms over us,

Casting hallow shadows.

Your words confine us

In rusted chains and barren boxes.

Your voice encases you in

Metal armor, impenetrable to mine.

Your silence,

Rings in my ear drums like guttural screams from our mothers.

Your silence,

Rings in my ear drums like children's cheers while lynching our brothers.

Your silence,

Rings in my ear drums like the cracking of a whip on the backs of our fathers.

And when you speak

The world halts to give you its ear.

And when you speak

You are lifted upon,

Our blistered backs and busted bones.

Your silence,

Is the border that separates us.

Your silence,

Is the violence that breaks us.

Your silence,

Is the genocide that erases us.

Your silence,

Speaks.