The Cost Of Silence || Sarah Gerald

Inauguration Day. A centuries old tradition of the passing of and accepting of presidential authority in America. Each one a reminder of the dream the Founding Fathers had for this land. A dream, albeit, riddled with imperfections and egregious error, yet somehow hopeful for a procurement of a better future for generations to come. It’s hard to imagine they could’ve foreseen the country America has become. However, they paved a way for us as a country to always fight for what could be and never settle for what is.

This year’s inauguration was a tremendous event for so many reasons. We watched as just days beforehand, domestic terrorists took it upon themselves to storm the Capitol building in hopes of interrupting one of the oldest democracies in the world.

In the wake of this invasion, we watched a democracy prevail and a new administration take coveted oaths to serve and protect this land. During this momentous day, Amanda Gorman took her place as the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration. Her piece, “The Hill we Climb” immediately received international acclaim. This piece stood out as boldly as her beautiful yellow coat shining brightly against the backdrop of a nation.

I, along with many watching, stood jaw-dropped as her words left her lips and rearranged themselves in my brain, speaking to my unique perspective as well as a shared understanding of being a black woman in America. One of the lines that pierced my gut is, “We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace.” Over and over again I listened to this poem but kept tripping over that line. I knew I had to respond and so I gave my pen permission to translate my emotions and birthed my piece entitled, “The Cost of Silence.”

Thank you, Amanda Gorman, for your commitment to the written word. Thank you, Inauguration Committee, for giving Amanda a platform. Thank you, America, for forging ahead through controversy and achievement alike. I believe, like Amanda Gorman, “…there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”

The Cost of Silence

—

Tongue-tied,

Jaw wired shut with clenched teeth

Chattering with the force and

Effort to keep tethered to resolve.

Sneers and snares set against me,

Tempting me to teeter past

Tranquility into hostility

Echoing and erupting the

Volcano within me.

My mind dizzily creating insults

To hurl like grenades into

The enemy’s trenches.

Every muscle forgetting their normal

Duties in order to focus on

The resolve to remain quiet;

But quiet isn’t always peace.

While words remain un-birthed

On my tongue,

Locked away in their

Bone-chiseled prisons,

You smile and carry on while

I watch another piece of me

Perish.