Shushed

by Mary Beth Magee

I speak, loud and proud and vocal,

For those who have no voice.

For those who have been shushed,

Squelched,

Stomped down,

Silenced by a world focused on

Meaningless models of

Empty externals.

Don’t talk, they say,

Don’t make a sound

Image credit: sebastiaan stam on Unsplash

Unless you are wealthy

Or pretty

Or talented or a daredevil

Or related to someone who is.

We don’t want to hear your dreams,

Your hopes, your desires

Because they don’t mean anything to us.

They just don’t matter.

Well, I’m here to tell you

Those dreams,

Those hopes, those desires are every bit as

important

As those of your so-called influencers.

Getting “likes” is nowhere nearly

As critical as getting heard.

The child waiting in foster care,

The unemployed mechanic,

That waitress in the coffee shop,

The valet who parks your fancy car,

The hungry child on the playground,

The janitor in the office building,

The clerk in the department store,

The homeless family

And so many more,

All have human blood, human genes,

Flesh and bones

And the dreams that go with them.

Their voices have stories to tell,

Questions to ask, comfort to offer.

They deserve to be heard!

But you won’t listen.

So, I speak for those whose voices

Have been stifled,

To tell you they matter.

Whatever their color or

Gender or

Appearance or

Situation or

Anything else,

They matter.

They count.

They have as much right to be heard

As anyone else.

You don’t have to agree with their views

Or buy into their dreams,

But you owe them the simple courtesy

Of letting them speak with their own voice.

Until you do,

I will shout,

I will sing,

I will defiantly stand and speak,

Loud and proud and vocal,

For those who have no voice. 

***

Mary Beth Magee

Mary Beth Magee has been writing prose and poetry for as long as she can remember, with an aim to uplift, illuminate, and inspire. Her work has appeared in local, regional, and national periodicals of both professional and nonprofessional nature as well as her own books and numerous anthologies. She lives in south Mississippi and serves as the Mississippi Poetry Society's 2025 Poet of the Year. She is a mother and grandmother.