Learning to speak up

Learning to speak up (2024). Pen on various handmade papers, lacquered hanji cover, thread. 8.75 x 6.2 x 1.5” closed, 12.5” wide open. 20 leaves, One of a kind. Cynthia Sears Artists’ Books Collection at BIMA.

Learning to speak up

first, you do it all the time
bawling
yowling
shrieking
wailing

and then slowly
you are taught
to shut it down

shushed
seen and not heard

except at the exact right moments

but you never chime in at quite the right time

the single off-beat voice in the choir
god forbid.

it becomes easier to be silent.

until it eats away so much that
not speaking
transforms into danger

the most dangerous place

so you begin again,
in small ways

a call (cough)
a letter (sigh)
a sign (giggle)

eventually you can hear what really matters

your voice strengthens and regains muscle

to maintain volume

easing in to fill space

to speak up for the

most vulnerable
most precious
most abused
among us.

You begin to yell in your dreams

and even shout into the world

to change it.