She says:

“I want you to take this toothpaste
and squeeze its contents out.”
We did.
“Now put it back in.”
We couldn’t.
“And those are your words.
You see:
It’s easy to let them out
but when you hurt someone with them
You can’t put it back in.”
Faces of shame.
Of amusement.
approval.
pain. recollection.

After all,
Apples may have different colors
but at the end of the day
they all bruise.

Somewhere in the room a girl bursts out laughing
Her friends are amused because
to them
it’s all just a game
Who can drive the knife in the deepest?
push someone off the cliff with a flourish?
win the most likes?
But those who cut the deepest
are the loudest

And too many
Too many of
those who are cut
choose to bandage wounds and stay silent

So close your eyes
and make a promise
I may never keep a promise
but this one
Demands
to be kept:

shout for those who can only whisper.