I’m still getting used to this lion in my mouth.
But sometimes
the notion of seen and not heard
still aches in my chest,
despite the waterfall of words I seem to spout
whenever my lips part.
When you’re trying to stay silent,
some times it helps if you cover up the abscene
with something meaningless
and hollow,
like empty poetry.
Laughter is also good.
If you can laugh about it,
it can’t of been so bad.
But time can chip away at you if you let it.
Too much silence
can eat the soul of you completely.
Not matter how small
the seed.
If we just don’t mention it,
ignore it and carry on,
then it’s not that big of a deal
so why make a fuss.
Women always make a fuss.
At night I feel silly,
walking with my car keys turned
to the sharp edge of a key-chain,
cold and hard against my palm
Alone is when I think about the school corridor,
his face split in two with that sneer
as I tried edging past him,
never close enough to touch
but clear and looming
this way was no longer mine to go.
In the light of my own hallway
I drop keys, and bag, and shoes,
and every memory of him,
the other lurking moments too.
We don’t speak about those here,
we don’t like to make a fuss,
those are the things for silent, empty rooms,
and notepads destined to gather dust.
I think if I was to write a collection of poetry then it would be called Words For Silent, Empty Rooms and I’d fill it with poems like Office Bitch and Legs Eleven.
Carol J Forrester 
I think some things should not be kept in the dark… that bully needs to get keyed for real.
I enjoyed the reading. Nice last stanza summarizing and holding attention with the near rhyme on “fuss” and “dust”.
That sent a chill down my spine. It is very powerful writing.
What a wonderful poem showing how silence eats away at the soul. Love the recording, it flows so well. This is a magnificent piece. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Wow! This is powerful, Carol, and as a woman, I relate to so much of it – from the being heard and not seen, to the threat of predators, to the not talking about it. So well written, and read. (By the way, in the audio version you have omitted some words – it works well this way.)
I agree with V’J. , Carol. This is indeed a powerful poem. I lke the idea of covering up things you can’t cope with, with empty poetry and laughter – I tend to giggle when I’m embarrassed, upset or afraid. The lines I completely identify with are:
‘Too much silence
can eat the soul of you completely.
Not matter how small
the seed’;
‘Alone is when I think about the school corridor’;
and
‘we don’t like to make a fuss,
those are the things for silent, empty rooms,
and notepads destined to gather dust’.
Glad you wrote about it and shared your words, even if “we don’t speak about those [moments] here.” LOVE the audio recording!
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WOW!!! I am a bit speechless. I listened and read along more than once. The audio added a whole new level of power to your words.