They, the them who take claim,
The one that took away my voice
Chipped away at the statue that stood tall and beamed, like the sun.
They will, my will was once big and unwavering, now moves with the wind and dances gracefully
like the ocean waters.
Because?
They will take, take claim of what does not belong to them, call themselves conquerors, of my
streams, rivers, and mountains.
They will destroy, Trampling my strength and shattering my courage into tiny pieces, creating
sand. They who take turned me into a cold desert, once blooming with cacti now covered in
jagged ice and snow.
Took away my shine, mined and dug up all of my crystals, gems, and diamonds leaving me with
a chunk out of my side, a hole in my heart, cracks running all throughout me creating taverns.
They, the them who takes claim
The ones who took left full, Gluttonous, left nothing to spare.
Like vultures, taking and picking at what they want, no mercy for the one they took claim upon.
No mercy for the dimmed star that was once a sun, no mercy for the unlit moon that once
shined to brighten the night’s sky.
They, the ones who felt entitled to my earth and its resources, took and left me floating in still
quiet waters, eroding as the days goes on, where I stay quiet.
It will,
It will continue as long as my mouth stays sewed shut, zipped tight like a jacket choking me,
suffocating me, weighing down on my back like a boulder, creating pressure, like a gun to my
head, the words stick to the back of my teeth ready to burst, like a cannonball
Do I open my mouth?
Break the vacuum-sealed layer of protection I have created, stab myself in the back seven
times, betray all that I have created, forget it and speak?
Do I sew my lips together? Superglue the lid shut, pull the trigger of the gun pressed to my
head so that I may never speak or think again?
Because I know that they,
the them that took claim
They will continue, as the silence goes on.
The one that took away my voice
Chipped away at the statue that stood tall and beamed, like the sun.
They will, my will was once big and unwavering, now moves with the wind and dances gracefully
like the ocean waters.
Because?
They will take, take claim of what does not belong to them, call themselves conquerors, of my
streams, rivers, and mountains.
They will destroy, Trampling my strength and shattering my courage into tiny pieces, creating
sand. They who take turned me into a cold desert, once blooming with cacti now covered in
jagged ice and snow.
Took away my shine, mined and dug up all of my crystals, gems, and diamonds leaving me with
a chunk out of my side, a hole in my heart, cracks running all throughout me creating taverns.
They, the them who takes claim
The ones who took left full, Gluttonous, left nothing to spare.
Like vultures, taking and picking at what they want, no mercy for the one they took claim upon.
No mercy for the dimmed star that was once a sun, no mercy for the unlit moon that once
shined to brighten the night’s sky.
They, the ones who felt entitled to my earth and its resources, took and left me floating in still
quiet waters, eroding as the days goes on, where I stay quiet.
It will,
It will continue as long as my mouth stays sewed shut, zipped tight like a jacket choking me,
suffocating me, weighing down on my back like a boulder, creating pressure, like a gun to my
head, the words stick to the back of my teeth ready to burst, like a cannonball
Do I open my mouth?
Break the vacuum-sealed layer of protection I have created, stab myself in the back seven
times, betray all that I have created, forget it and speak?
Do I sew my lips together? Superglue the lid shut, pull the trigger of the gun pressed to my
head so that I may never speak or think again?
Because I know that they,
the them that took claim
They will continue, as the silence goes on.
Kamira
They will; as the silence goes on, is about how sexual assault can cause complete personality changes and make victims feel as if they have lost their voice. This poem is about the contemplation/mental warfare that goes on in the minds of a victim on whether they should speak out or not, and the obligation they may feel to speak out in order to prevent the assaulter from harming someone else.