Chains of Silence

I’m stuck in a flummoxed conundrum

No one knows the real me

But I get upset at when they make assumptions

Based on just what they hear and see

I keep to myself most of the time

My ideas and thoughts are my own

I contribute less than most others do

In a crowd of people I’m alone



Am I missing something essential?

A knack that the rest of society has

Or am I reading too much in my obstacle?

A hurdle that would be easy to pass

It’s not that I’m anti-social

I would love nothing more than to be included

I just have a tendency to hold my tongue

And this tendency is what keeps me secluded



There are times when I view it as strength

So many talk just for the sake of speaking

An exchange of words are tossed back and forth

Filled with nothing but just an empty meaning

I think of what I say before I speak

I’m not slow witted or hesitant to respond

Maybe if others would do something similar

Conversations may go right before they go wrong



There are times when I fear that what I say

Will not be valued by those I hold dear

Maybe my own view of what others say

Is the basis of my own social fear

So here I stand in a limbo of my own making

I don’t speak up but I want to be heard

No one else can change things for me

All that’s needed is to offer a word