Silence is gold they say

Silence is gold they say

It may be gold

It may be pure

It may be beautiful

But for some

It’s a lot more

For some

Silence is a curse

Silence is lying

Silence is hiding

Silence is surviving

It takes courage to break silence

It takes courage to lift a veil

But the worst

Is that sometimes

You break the silence

Only to realize

There’s no one to listen

You lift the veil

Only to realize

There’s no one to see

I broke my silence

Knowing you were there to hear me

I lifted my veil

Knowing it was your face I’d see

I had been muffling my scream

Not allowing even myself to hear it

For 19 years

Then you arrived

And I didn’t have to scream

For all you needed

Was a whisper of my truth

Not once did you doubt me

Even when I doubted myself

Not once did you leave me

Even when I’d abandoned myself

It feels strange

To talk to you through another

After being accustomed to speaking

to you

Before hearing myself

I don’t know what to say to you

Nothing seems adequate

I meant it when I told you

You deserve the world and more

Illustrated by Sambita Modak

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