I no longer
Use the word
Quiet
To describe people.

I was told
I was quiet
So often
I believed it.
Thought the words
Floating around in my head
Were in everyone’s head.
And my voice
Was not worthy
Of pulling them out.

The quiet
Started
When the world did not feel safe.

Thought I did not have a right
To add words to
A world not meant for me.

The quiet continued
When people told me my identity
Required
The words to remain bottled up in my head.

The truth
In my head
Has always been the most me
There is.
Both the world
And I
Suffer
By holding it back.

Now
When I notice
Someone
Who is not talking
I hold my tongue
When the qu tries to come out.
I put myself in their shoes
What is making them
Feel
Unsafe.