Have you ever felt claws
ripping and wrenching,
slashing and hacking at your throat,
leaving a trail of blood
as you speak?
Have you ever felt a weight on your chest,
so heavy you can barely breathe,
let alone express the feelings
you’ve only been told to hide?
Has it ever seemed like the thoughts
buried deep inside your soul,
are written in a foreign language,
known only to yourself,
and you’ve never been taught how to translate them?
Maybe you haven’t.
But some of us have.
And maybe you’d answer us differently,
more kindly,
more patiently,
if you knew how much courage it took
for some of us just to speak.
