Silenced

I see clearly.

I have always seen clearly.

I have known cruelty.

In family.

In systems.

In society.

I learned, at an early age, that truth is dangerous.

That others are invested in their illusion.

When I spoke

I was called wrong.

Broken.

Crazy.

I was silenced.

I adapted.

My eyes stayed open.

My mind stayed sharp.

I learned to listen.

To observe.

To analyze.

To understand the patterns that others refused to see.

I took the truth inward.

I guarded it carefully.

I closed my mouth,

To survive.

I am not ignorant.

I am not weak.

I am silenced.