Children Should be Seen and Not Heard

When my dad said 'It's my way or the highway',

'Sit down and shut up'

'Children should be seen and not heard.'

When my teachers said 

the correct answer is X

and I wanted to discuss why.

And on and on until, 

I learnt to censor myself. 

And now, deeply, from deep down, like a rising from the earth,

I'm called to raise my voice

to join those who have been singing a chorus 

of injustice, of repression, of invalidation.

Now, the Catalan defence of the right to self determination 

has triggered an avalanche in my personal history. 

For all those times I held my tongue, I bit my tongue, 

choked back words, clenched my teeth, fought back tears

because

I did not speak up.

I did not speak up.

Me too.

Now, the pieces of the past are falling together

gathering to form a solid foundation 

under my feet, where 

standing my ground, where

my voice rising

becomes the final piece of the picture.

It marks the end of my childhood,

now at age 46,

when I once said 'it's someone else's problem'

'they' will fix it.

It's a beginning.

Where I rise my voice to join the  chorus

of all those before me, to speak out,

to speak up,

to speak.

And one voice does make a difference.

Because I know you can hear me. 

I know you are listening.

And one day, I will join other pieces 

of the puzzle of your life

and I will be there as one of many

who come before us,  

as you too rise and speak.

Speak for your heart

your justice,

for your need, your right, 

to be heard.

It's a beginning.