I want to talk about words
How they flow from our mouths like melted chocolate
How they rise from our throat only to be silenced
Silenced by ourselves
Silenced by society

I want to talk about thoughts
How they quickly turn to their friend anxiety when they can’t sort out problems
How they build up in our minds like a pile of raked leaves
And when the wind blows
when it’s time to speak
some of them never choose to leave
They creep up and whisper “I’m still here, ready to drive you into the deep”
Connections linked together
are as complex as the corn maize you ran through as a kid
Orchards of overthinking harvest confusion
They bear the fruit of hopelessness

I want to talk about people
How we judge each other based on what we see
How we call out one another
knocking each other down deep, destined to drown in our sorrows
for some a pool
others an ocean

I want to talk about friends
How we count them
How we decide who belongs in what clique
When we shouldn’t have counted
because we’ll never know their value, their worth
We can’t decide where they fit in each clique
because they never signed up for a group
They signed up for someone to listen
Listen to the voices