Silence

What will you say
When they ask
the reasons for your silence?
Were you too dense to catch
thoughts shouted out as they formed
and herded together?
Will you say
That you heard and knew
But did not think your thoughts
would be accepted
by an indifferent world?
What will you
of your silence claim?
Lack of interest
Lack of guts
Or  lack of comprehension ?
Or lack of knowledge
of sentences, strings of words heard
that are clear, so clear, to you ?
In their rage
those who express their ideas
break down into gibberish
Alphabets slip out of position
Will you keep silent
After you see verbal abuse
graduating into rotten eggs
that get thrown on the faces of those
who differ from them?
Will you
walk away from contact
with those   slapped and  kicked?
Walk away
as they fall on the road?
Will you keep quiet
When people are murdered on the road
With you just a silent witness ?
Will you condone the killing of humanity
Then wonder
in the opal light of soul space
When and how
did you die inside
When faced with the outside?
—Lakshmi Bayi