In Silence

When one is silent

things are heard.

What was heard today

was frightening, insightful, amazing.

A fight

between a boyfriend

and the parent

of a girl that proved

nothing is off limits to the young.

Questions were asked;

some were relevant.

“There are gay teens?”

left one wondering

what rock the asker

lived under.

One hears support

and derision

in their quest

to remain silent

for just one day.

Silence reveals

who are friends

and who

are enemies.

Actions do speak,

and they are louder than words.

The actions of some

break through their words

and show the truth of them.

These are the people

you need to watch.

Watch to decide

to embrace as friends

or to discard

as unworthy of your time.

Some do not understand

silence, cannot grasp

the words of others,

words they refuse

to speak.

Some not only understand

silence, but embrace

it, if only

for a few hours.

Some people

surprise those in silence.

Their words are understood

and better tell

who they really are.

While my silence

was representative of those

who suffer in their own,

I discovered that my silence,

if only for a day,

was a learning experience.

For when you are silent,

you not only hear,

you learn.

On the National Day of Silence, hundreds of thousands of students around the country remain silent for the day in order to bring attention to the harassment, prejudice, discrimination and bullying that GLBT teens suffer through every day. While I may not be a teenager, I participate in the Day of Silence every year to show my support for this issue. More information can be found at www.dayofsilence.org