Hush

Can you see that choked scream growing?

It’s matured and almost ready

To claw its way out of my throat.

It’s rebelling and teaching my tongue

That swallowed words settle like lead in my stomach,

Like forgotten wishes on coins at the bottom of a well.

I’ve lived years in this silence,

But I’m teaching myself to speak again

Beyond suppressed emotions and strangled breaths.

You will find me climbing to rooftops

And taking up residence between shingles and metal.

You will find me gripping steel in soft hands

And hoping to absorb the strength through sweating palms.

You will find that scream still coiled and ready

To tear itself from my brimming lungs.

And when I see that glittering steel reflected behind my eyes

And hear my voice reverberate on the wind,

I want you to know that I’ve won.

I’ve escaped that strangling choke hold and found my voice again.