I do not want to cause offense
I do not wish to harm
I do not want to hurt your feelings
Or to cause alarm
I do not want to challenge you
Or to make you feel small
I know that you
Don't want me to
Say anything at all
And so I've learned to blunt my tongue
To mitigate my speech
To stretch the space between the lines
As far as it can reach
I censor myself
Without thinking
Every single day
And if I could speak freely
I don't know what I would say