Nonfiction Friday: Silenced

Have you ever been silenced?   

They don't want to hear what you think.  They only want to express what they believe. What they feel. What they know.  They don't want to be questioned or have to explain.  They don't want to hear opposing views or even the truth.

You try to speak and noise fills the air, wails of censorship zooms through the square. No, you cannot. No you should not. You should be ashamed.  They can't bear to hear and stick their fingers in their ears.  Let's not confuse the issue with facts.  They will not listen. They do not care. Emotion rules the day.  They slice and dice and tear you to pieces.   They interpret your words, change and mold them to their point of view and lead their sheep to think that what they think you said is true.

You choose silence. You choose not to explain.  You think those who know the truth will remain.  Your words, your thoughts, your ideas shred and cease to exist. Assumptions are made, seeds are planted deep in your glade. Roots spread and weeds bloom, tall and sharp, casting shadows and leaving you in the gloom. You no longer speak and they think it is fair. The only voices they hear are their own.

Shadows, shadows everywhere, steal your light without a care as weeds grow in the dark.  Such insidious things, seeds planted due to their need,  grow more toxic by the day with their speed.  Banishing the shadows is easier said than done, especially when you have let it go on too long. 

You claim your garden and discover that those you thought had been true had been false all along. Do you feel sorrow or more like a fool for not recognizing how toxic things had become?  You dig deep into the soil as you tug and pull and tear out the roots.  The shadows scatter and weeds rot like bad fruit.  

You step out of the shadows into the truth. Heat warms your face, the sun reveals the soil to grow on. No need to explain.  No need to deny.  No more silence. No more lies. You choose respect.   You choose truth.  You are entitled to have your say without being dismissed by those who don't feel the same way.   You raise your voice in praise, no longer constrained.