I Do Not Seek The Silence

Warning: this may be triggering. Not all are on a quest for silence. For some assault, abuse, and rape survivors, the quest may be for a world that is less silent and allows for the expression of their experiences. This poem encourages people to understand the different types of silence, and how breaking silence can be, for some, a step toward peace.

Transcript

I'm not going to bother you with a story of assault,

Though some have never heard one.

Too many can do without.

But the story is the problem,

Or rather,

All the noise that stifles and smothers,

That lets the world avoid.

It roars until upon the stage the ruckus gets so loud our ears pop from the pressure society allowed.

We learn from stories,

From our birth.

E-I-E-I-O.

We learn from rhymes and fairy tales.

Oh,

The places we'll go.

We learn what we can never say,

What will be our reward for saying the unwanted words,

Our languages ignored.

I do not seek the silence that brings so many peace.

I do not seek the silence that only brings some peace.

In the quiet,

In what's still,

Enlightenment is born.

That same quiet,

Can demean,

A body,

Bruised and worn.

We change the world through action,

But first the words must come.

We speak to find our way.

We speak to bang the drum.

Let us not make one more life feel it cannot say.

What happened?

Their story.

That words were yanked away.

Speak and write and normalize that we may find release.

I do not seek the silence unless we all have peace.

Reviews

What an empowering, powerful and profoundly important message you have given voice to. Bless you.

Very strong Lisa.
You have a great gift with words.
Thank you for sharing 🥀

You have a profound way with words, you touch me deeply.

So timely that I would hear this after having heard stories from my niece yesterday about the abuse that she has been enduring without telling anyone. Her mind consumed with what was, is, and will be. She cant stop thinking or let her guard down. The shame and self hatred for putting on an act about him to us. My youngest daughter, my granddaughter are caught in the insanity of being the ex husband sitting her children against their mom. The abused looks and sounds HISterical while the abuser looks calm. "She gave herself the black eye and blamed it on me." He said to the police, the party, the judge. Make a safety plan. Extra car key and burner phone hidden. Have an exit. Dont get boxed in away from an exit. I got out in 1973 with my 2 year old daughter and his my whereabouts. It is the most deadly when you leave. Beware.

This was so beautiful in understanding, my ❤️ knows all of this ❤️. Healing and finding my way.

So moving it hurt.

Unbelievably POWERFUL. 🙏🏻

I can’t begin to Thank You enough, for being Brave enough to share this with us, to allow those of us who also Do NOT Seek The Silence, or HAVE BEEN Silenced against our wishes - whether through judgement, society’s ‘norms’, threats, fear or straight out being told to ‘Be Quiet’ or ‘Shut Up’ or ‘What’s the point in saying anything because…
…no one will believe you
…no one really cares
…it won’t make a difference
…surely you don’t want people to know?!?
…it’s better to not speak about these sorts of things

…etc etc…

The mix of both Bravery & Complete Vulnerability, in your voice, when you SPOKE YOUR WORDS ALOUD…

Made me well up, with the feeling of both Compassion & Complete Understanding of KNOWING HOW…

…so many may want to be silent, keep quiet, and maybe not mention a word…

…but many of us NEED to SPEAK OUR TRUTH, in order for us to be HEARD!

Thank You SO Much for this, I didn’t actually mean to end up somehow writing a Poem back as a response, but when I am inspired my Creative Writing comes out without me realising, it was only when I read back my comment I realised it was a sort of Spoken Word Response to Yours 💕

Sending All my Love, Hugs & Thanks to you xx
Bex ✨🌹✨

Powerful and uplifting at once.
Thank you so much for sharing with us.
🌺💐🌻🌱🌷🌼🌹🌲🪶🌳🦋🙏🏽🕊🐾💫✨

Speak. Thank you, Liza. 🥰🙏

Well done. Thank you

🙏 very powerful Liza. Thank you for sharing with us. ❤️

Wow! Every word of this!!!!!

So deeply true for me also as a survivor of suicide loss. I believe that sharing our stories has great power and is the most lasting gift we can give to one another.

Thank you, bless you for your beautiful and eloquently spoken words. 💗🙏🏻💗

Wow, this was absolutely incredible. Each word in your poem was carefully chosen, honest and clear. The pain and strength in your voice came through as well. It is an honor that you shared this with us, thank you so much. 🙏🏻😊

So powerful!! I could feel your words resonate through me a from start to finish, and have made an impact on me. Blessings and love xxx