Voice
They say you have to find your voice
like they ask ‘what do you want to be
when you grow up?’
But you don’t know where to look
or know that you have the voice
you were born with
You sit on the phone
with a boy you like
and time stops still
while no one speaks
You wouldn’t tell
that you got locked out
of a house while babysitting
that you had to break a window
to get back in
You don’t raise your hand at school
You’d rather not talk
than be wrong
You don’t lie
but don’t tell the truth
You like your voice
when you sing with the radio
songs of someone else’s words
You remember when you talked to yourself
in the blackberry patch
when no one else was there
You remember the bat
tucked between the briars
and the scratches on your legs
from reaching for places you couldn’t go
And now you’re grown
and you don’t remember what you said then
You like your voice but like the quiet
You don’t singalong unless you mean it
You add your own words
to the sum of parts
Distinct as fingerprints
A poet’s north star
You write it down
and read it out loud
Your thoughts are the medium
and voice is your art
_________Colleen Redman / Poets and Storytellers United/ dVerse Poets Pub
June 19th, 2021 12:29 pm
Your words hit the sweet spot of how it unfolds. Funny how we find our voices that were never lost but the power of which was/is so rarely understood.
June 20th, 2021 4:26 am
Oh, how I love this poem! And although some details of course differ, I very much relate. It should be mandatory reading for all young people, I reckon. Meanwhile the me I’ve always been, knowing myself nowadays, waves across the world to the you you’ve always been.
June 20th, 2021 7:26 am
How important it is for kids to understand that the world can open up to them especially if they are adventurous and try out different ways of doing things and remember that making mistakes is part and parcel of learning too!
June 20th, 2021 7:50 am
I wish i could write without stopping a million times during the process to read aloud what I’ve written, go back & change it a million and one times, then (more often than not) tuck it away in that “I’ll-work-some-more-on-this-later” file, which (almost never) happens.
Your work rocks, CR
June 20th, 2021 8:37 am
I love this! It resonates with me so much, all the phases of growing, not understanding the power of your voice or even knowing how to use it.
June 20th, 2021 8:48 am
It’s a conundrum: Who we have always been is not always who we necessarily are at the moment, yet the “always been” is always with us. We sing. We remember. We break the window of the moment to get back into the house of our belonging. Conundrum. Life. Amen.
June 20th, 2021 11:45 am
This poem spoke to me — loudly! Beautiful write.
June 20th, 2021 11:45 am
I like the idea of writer as a remover of layers, of barriers… Through words we show more of ourselves to us. And when we’re very lucky, I think, we get the chance to see others seeing themselves through our words. Yes, writing and reading feel like a process of self-discovery.
June 20th, 2021 11:50 am
Awesome poem! This poem should be required reading to anyone who tries to understand themselves.
There are so many parts i can relate to. and yes, now i write my voice down.
June 20th, 2021 12:02 pm
Love all your comments! Poet comments are the best!
June 21st, 2021 1:01 am
Excellent poem. I can relate.
June 22nd, 2021 2:39 pm
“You don’t raise your hand at school
You’d rather not talk
than be wrong”
That was literally me: petrified of being wrong even when I knew I was right. I was good at school but didn’t really like it. I think, more than anything, I learned how to be afraid. Blogging helps to undo some of that.
June 23rd, 2021 10:35 pm
Excellent poem!
June 24th, 2021 9:46 pm
It’s sometimes hard to find your voice and I think during certain times the voice changes a bit. Perhaps, it is always evolving. I have found my own voice through poetry. It’s been a blessing.
June 24th, 2021 11:23 pm
You read it out loud
and you are
who you’ve always been
Great close Colleen! One finds one’s real self to seek relevance in the adult world. They may even gain commercially with hidden talents discovered. Love your write. Many can relate to it!
Hank
June 25th, 2021 2:53 am
Yes Colleen, I like this whole notion of ‘finding your voice’ which is a great one to explore and look back on too. Stimulating piece, as ever…
June 25th, 2021 7:53 am
Brilliant conclusion: I love the way you have made peace with yourself, and found a way to speak out loud!
June 25th, 2021 8:36 am
“…and you are
who you’ve always been”
June 25th, 2021 2:57 pm
I love this and can resonate with this a lot. I used to dislike my voice, and then I grew to appreciate it because I’m stuck with it, and I guess sometimes it sounds alright lol. Well penned!
June 25th, 2021 10:05 pm
This is really wonderful – the personal memories that still somehow speak to collective experience. It’s just beautiful.
June 26th, 2021 7:29 pm
Yes and its a lovely voice to use! Have a good summer.
June 27th, 2021 4:02 am
This is absolutely beautiful! Such deep and profound musings .. ??
June 27th, 2021 11:05 am
I do remember that my voice was carefully shy when I was young…This:
You’d rather not talk
than be wrong
was me…