Shut up!

Please

Because you can't
tell me that you know
when you never listen

Stop it!

And listen
you've never once
heard me speak
but you pretend
like you know all of me

Look and see

There's a truth under
the surface that you
refuse to see
you hear but you
can't listen

A small word
was too much
for your fragile words

"Shut the **** up"
I'd shouted because
it was all too much
and you
you called it
air pollution
and told me
to do better

Do better?

Do better than what?
Then the grades, perfect and bright
then the house, swept until it shines
the walls scrubbed of dirt
the grass cut and raked
the garden starting to grow
and the dogs brushed and nails trimmed

Better than
the styled hair and makeup
the clothes hung out on the line
the shoes polished clean
the room with everything cleaned
the problems all locked away
the scars hidden where you can't see

My voice
kept quiet
all day long
except for a simple
thirty minutes
where I can
speak

And you call it
air pollution

What about the air pollution?
Factories and cars
and landfills filled
with the rich's waste
all the things you have
that I can't afford
because I can barely scrape by

One single word
was enough for you to dismiss
everything

Even though I have
poured blood, sweat, and tears
into being the best
I can be

And one word
was enough to dismiss all that
to forget that
you never heard
my voice until then

Our first meeting
and I already know
I despise you

Because you see
only the surface
and ignore
the life that breathes
underneath

So you
shut up
and listen
because there is
more than just
your voice
in this place
and you are not
the only one
who matters