she was only five

when she didn’t want to live anymore

praying to God to make her life better

to stop the abandonment, the neglect

suddenly acting up in school was the effect

 

she just wanted to be heard

she was child

listen to her

give her your full attention

but molest was the only mention

 

all she longed for was a listening hear

listen to her words

listen to her cries

listen to her stories

 

tell her everything is gonna be okay

she learned that God was the only way

at thirteen, she stopped talking

why talk when no one hears

her voice disappeared

 

the voice vanished from her

like day turns into night

she lost her light

 

at fifteen, she was in love

or thought she was

she never got that representation

of what it looked like

 

hearing the word “love” was a blur

she hardly felt that

she has hardly seen it

she wanted people to listen to her words

 

to be heard

hear her mellow voice

listen to her fluent words

attend to her tone

 

at seventeen, she learned to use her voice

she didn’t want to give them a choice

words got a new best friend

the way they flowed off the page

into her mouth

 

she used her voice as her therapy

hoping someone will understand

why she feels unheard