Centuries

once upon a time

I liked to press

my fingers

into the sides of my neck

because it helped keep me quiet

when I heard all the bad

trying to sneak into my brain

but as I grew

and grew

and grew

I found out that keeping quiet

hurt more than screaming

so loud

your throat bled

because silence is the one thing

that has always been the downfall of us

and we take history class

to learn from our mistakes

but what we have learned from silence

does not seem to translate well

and silence

continues

on

all of us trapped

hello

how are you

good, how about you?

puppets

trained not to express

how we truly feel

scared to

because what would people think of you

if you actually had

feelings

but you're wrong

I'm wrong

they're wrong

everyone's wrong

because the only emotion

that all of us are born with

is love

everything else is learned

we are teaching

each other

is how to be ignorant

so that when we see someone suffering

we scoff

or pass by

or maybe feel guilty

but still don't

do

anything

and this is how

we learn sorrow

by being abandoned

in a room full of people

and this is why

people want so badly to leave

that they leave for good

I watched a boy

degenerate

I watched him

never realizing

that I could have changed things

maybe

if I'd said hello

he'd still be here

maybe

if anyone had

he would still be here

but he isn't

and it's history

so we have to learn from it

but we don't

so it keeps happening

and a friend once told me

that when a dog is cornered

it will stop barking

and start biting

because it's the last resort

there's no other choice

and we all think these people

are angry

and mean

but it's a last resort

they've been cornered

it's the last resort

there's no other choice

but this happens

all the time

we've tried

speeches

projects

pacts

to spread love

but it doesn't work

because everyone believes

for a day

or two

or maybe a month

but you have to believe

all your life

for it to make a difference

but a couple days

of being loud

doesn't make up for centuries

of silence