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