They speak the way they breathe
unapologetically
And I try to fashion my words like theirs
but my voice isn’t air
Its water and every unspoken word
is drowning me
and every syllable is silenced by
my anxiety
every sentence sticks itself to the
inside of my esophagus
and no one notices because they’re still speaking
my words have always been absent from
their conversations so they don’t hear
me choking
They speak as easily as breathing
and my jealousy is not in what they’re saying
but of the way words escape their diaphragm
like wind gusts in a hurricane
my lungs ache to cause that much destruction
my body sinks with each swallowed storm
my mind screams under all this water
I speak the way I sink
quietly
And they try to understand my silence
but all they’ve chalked it up to is stubbornness
an unwillingness to speak
my voice so weak it cracks under their scrutiny
but really it’s their own misunderstanding
their inability to hear the beauty
in my shattered vocabulary
because their radio ears have
tuned out my frequency
hearing white noise where my voice should be
I spit as easily as swimming
my voice learning how to
project over ocean currents
turning words into tropical storms
forming poetry out of tsunamis
the power I control behind a mic
is so much stronger than their screaming
it seems they can create but
mere wind gusts next to
my hurricanes on stage
my voice was made for speaking
just not in the way people are used to hearing
Points:
Time spent:
Canary word: Present
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125,014 Literary Works • 672,845 Reviews
This is literally breathtaking. I can feel the anxiety coming from the words. Wanting to be heard but too afraid to say anything. Reminds me of the song Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson but this has so much more passion and meaning. Truly a work of art. There are some word choices that you made that I think could be changed, but I am not a poetry writer, but other than that beautiful piece, truly magnificent.
Thanks so much for the feedback! I think the poem reads weird cause its supposed to be spoken? Or maybe I just need to edit. But thanks so much!
i absolutely LOVE this piece. i like the way you compare your voice to a radio frequency that they have tuned out. i can tell that you are maybe a shy person. i can tell that you know you have a voice. are you afraid to use it? im sure if you shared this with more people they would understand you better and respect you more. keep on writing like this and people will definatley notice you!
This poem is more about me being anxious than shy, I wanted to talk and envied those who did. But its all good, this is my staple to read at poetry slams! Thanks for the support
i absolutely LOVE this piece. i like the way you compare your voice to a radio frequency that they have tuned out. i can tell that you are maybe a shy person. i can tell that you know you have a voice. are you afraid to use it? im sure if you shared this with more people they would understand you better and respect you more. keep on writing like this and people will definatley notice you!
Last lines best lines. Good stuff m8 few questionable word choices but good poem nonetheless