SILENCED

Let my silence grow with noise

as pregnant mothers grow with life.

Let my silence permeate these walls

as sunlight permeates a home.

Let the silence rise from unwatered graves

and craters left by bombs.

Let the silence rise from empty bellies

and surge from broken hearts.

The silence of the hidden and forgotten.

The silence of the abused and tortured.

The silence of the persecuted and imprisoned.

The silence of the hanged and massacred.

Loud as all the sounds can be,

let my silence be loud

so the hungry may eat my words

and the poor may wear my words.

Loud as all the sounds can be,

let my silence be loud

so I may resurrect the dead

and give voice to the oppressed.

My silence speaks.

-Kamand Kojouri