Voice

We stand

startled at the sound

of our voices,

not having heard them

in so long,

lulled and cowed and simply worn down

by the loud drone constantly imposed,

passed off as our own,

asserting its message

of fear and division

all through the day and the night

Now we have spoken

and it’s wonderful how the sound

hums in our throats, in our bones,

how we find we have more to say,

how good it feels when others

resonate, corroborate.

So we stand together,

learning how to hear,

learning to be heard.

©Wendy Mulhern

March 26, 2016