I take a moment of quiet pause
Listening with attentive ears
Silence wraps itself around me
The voice hides
Submission the bars that cage it

I whisper to it
It crawls around inside me
Resting in my throat
Clinging to the inside like a child gripping her mother's skirt
It yearns to be released
But flees from the mouth...
that would form words to echo its calling

Paper cuts and smudged ink
Emptiness that mocks deadlines
Clock ticking
My voice sleeps
2:00am and silent screams
Wake me from my bad dream
To pour my heart onto paper
So my incessant pulse will not keep me awake
With mindless dripping

"Write"they bark
Like it answers on demand
As if they're only words
Less a part of me than my skin
Sneer at my words if you will
But don't peel away my voice
Or expose the inside
Claw at my skin with savage unknowing
Muffle not the notes of my heart song
And I shall live...

Frowns and scrunched up paper
Silent Partners
My hand trembles as my voice takes it hostage
With a breath of courage it
stumbles across the page
My book of Life

Mind gorging itself
On forgotten familiarity

The voice falls silent
Slinking into my depths
I reach after it with eager hands
Collapsing into an embrace
Whispered "Thank you"
My voice...
The very essence...
Of me...

~ Shae Leigh
22nd-February-1998

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