you only listen so you can be heard
so you can be witnessed and misunderstood
and I only speak so I can be found
so I can be seized by some foreign sound
by something forbidden when I'm feeling safe
by something confident when I feel ashamed
feed my volition; paint it all red
light it with matches from under your bed
leave it to murmur out in the cold
out in the darkness where nothing is whole
where nothing's forbidden and nothing is safe
and everything's hidden in blankets of shame
don't say you didn't hear what I say