In a public or private space
The words out of my mouth
They’re being hushed
They’re being pushed
To the side
To the edge of a cliff
All because
I’m speaking them too loudly
Too much
Too, me.
You say there are others around
“But the kids!”
As if the kids
Are not growing up
In an environment so fucked
We don’t want them to know yet
“The kids don’t know curse words, or what they mean!”
As if it is such a “bad” thing for a child to know or use a “curse” word
As if a child does not eventually hear it from someone else
But ya know, god forbid I am that person
Now really ask yourself,
“Why does society give certain words ‘bad’ meanings, but not others?”
Oh, but it’s too early for them, you say?
The concept of time is a social construct
And I am taking my time
The time that I have not had
When I was silenced,
With my words
Pushed to the side and off a cliff
When I became too loud
Too nasty for you
Well, guess what?
I refuse to apologize
For regaining that time lost
As a child
As a young adult
In the classroom
At home
And in the world.
I refuse for myself and others to be silenced.