The Importance of Your Voice

Sitting in class
Their back resting on the blue plastic of their chair
They know the topic
Breathed the research like air
Felt the words soak into their heart
Like butter on bread
Listening to the opinion of others
Silently agreeing
Their inward nod
The conversation is growing larger
Peers add their thoughts
Till every word is spoken with importance
The meaning they have longed to hear
The conversation they have longed to have
Their mouth opens like a clam
Tentatively and slowly
For a clam only opens when it feels comfortable
But they have doubt
They fear what their classmates may think
What if they laugh at them
They close their mouths and hide their pearl
Fear staining their courage
Like coffee on paper

Sitting in the corner
Book resting between his hands
He gazes across the room
Watching as two "friends" toss a "friend's" hat
They act like friends
Talk like friends
But they aren't
The boy in the corner has seen it
They tease each other "just for fun"
But are the rumors behind their backs "just for fun"
Behind the boy's tentative laughs,
Is a tone of anger,
maybe even sadness
From his view in the corner,
he watches as fear spreads over the boy's face
Trying frantically now to grab his hat
He folds the corner of the page between his fingers
But he restrains from setting it down
Fearing what will happen if he tries to help
Scared that they will pick on him next
That he will be the next target
He tosses a sympathetic look to the boy their teasing
Like trying to help put out a fire with a glass of milk
He unfolds the corner of his page
And continues to read

Sitting in the lunchroom
She watches the girl get lunch
Trying to keep up with the line
She watches as the girl finds a seat 
By herself,
In the back
The girl nudges her pudding
Trying to hide the fact that she feels alone
Or maybe embarrassed
At the table of friends, 
The girl watches with understanding
She knows how it feels to sit alone
Trying to disappear inside first-day clothes
Glancing around to her friends
Words try to find their way out of her mouth
But she is afraid that her friends will only laugh
Or worse
Make her sit by herself
So she swallows her words
Giving the girl a pitiful smile
The look you get when staring at the sun
She returns to her friends
Nodding along to their conversation

Everyone has had a moment like these
Where the right thing to do slips away
Like water under the bridge
But the river never slows
And there is always a next opportunity
To open your mouth 
And share your thoughts
Or help a friend or even make a new one
For you matter
And so does what you have to say
You have a voice
Strong and clear

Use it.