Youth and Silence

Below is a piece written by a young man at one of our "Conversations on Silence" held at a Public Library in Baltimore last night. If you are a young person, or interact with young people, or were at one of our library conversations, or have a piece of spoken word poetry, or have anything to say on this subject, please hit "comment" and add your voice to the dialogue.

"Free"
by Loverboy (aka., James Otis Thompson, Jr.)

I am Trapped in a cage sinking
Below the water

But I struggle to say
I can't Breathe

There are many fish in the sea
but I stand alone

But I struggle to say I
can't breathe

I've been shaped, re-placed
I've seen myself - so much I
wonder if I have the only face

i feel as though god gave me the
key and said let everyone be Free!!!

But I struggle to say
I can Breathe. . .

Free Speech?

The next question for comment: Is silence generally liberating or oppresive to you? Has this changed for you over time?

(Click on "comment" below to leave your story/thoughts.)

I Hear What You're Saying

This week's question: In what ways have you experienced communication without spoken language? What were these experiences like?

(In case you're interested, the images above are from the "typographic ballet" Body Language, in which a dancer contorts herself inside a specially-constructed spandex bag to create letters from the human form. Performed by: Amy Oldham)

Talk to Me

"In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Ever struggled with the silence of a friend or lover, or been a silent partner yourself?