*** Poem by Ruth L. Rivers

Those who hold to silence; Do! Defend! :

I speak not! for the wear of words which do not mend

I speak not! for their depths which lack all mannerisms of time past

I speak not! for those who once had voice yet could not noise

I speak not! for time ever lost amidst shelves of the lesser rot

I speak not! for each whose young yet knew all hope and no tongue

I speak not! for small Abandon which so many had forgotten to love

I speak not! for pain that trembles in persons depths, at core and embers

I speak not! for losses in the aged and youth ripped out of lifes page

I speak not! for the silence which remains in sun, stars, and rain

I speak not! for tears unshed, hearts unhealed, laughter silenced, lives cut short, glory taken, loss repeated, beauty sodden, peace disrupted, bruises unearned, innocence wizened, hope shattered, silence kept, scars opened, I speak not.

Yet,

I do..............................I will, ................................I must!


SPEAK for YOU.

By Ruth L. Rivers
2-20-08