He who does not know how to be silent will not know how to speak.
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Silent
Silent when I have nothing to say.
Silent just to avoid the fray.
Silent when I am not sure.
Silent—I can't stand anymore.
Silent when you make me mad.
Silent I am when times are sad.
Silent when I am too shy.
Silent when I want to cry.
Silent as I carry life's load.
Silent... I may soon explode.
poem by Shaqueena Celestin
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Green Monkey
When the deep blue night is running close on your track
And you can feel the green monkey crawlin across your back
Dont take me so real that you forget how to feel
Dont let the threat of the dagger turn your heart into steel
Smell the perfume of the silent dream
Fly the ocean, read a story to me
Speak the wisdom of a redwood tree
Speak to me
So you think that star cluster shining bright in the sky
Will speak the fate of your evening, tell the truth to your lie
Dont let the features you read control the tickets you buy
Soon as you learn that you live, youre just beginning to die
Smell the perfume of the silent dream
Fly the ocean, read a story to me
Speak the wisdom of a redwood tree
Speak to me
Smell the perfume of the silent dream
Fly the ocean, read a story to me
Speak the wisdom of a redwood tree
Speak to me
song performed by by America
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Speak With Kindness (Or Do Not Speak At All)
speak with kindness,
or do not speak at all.
speak not of judgement,
you are not the judge.
speak not of salvation,
let your living be your scriptures.
speak not of scriptures,
let your actions be your holy book.
speak not as apostle or teacher,
speak as a human being.
speak not of god,
then god will speak through you!
speak not as a man,
for you are woman too.
speak not with hateful malice,
for love does not work that way.
speak not as a prophet or seer,
speak as compassion made flesh.
speak not of morality,
speak of connection.
speak not of authority,
the tree and the leaf have just as much.
speak not of holiness,
for all that lives be holy.
speak with kindness...
or do not speak at all!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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The silent child
The silent child is not a blind child
eyes wide open while yours are closed
you speak to much and listen less
this child of yours will take over
your own creation outsmarting you
he can now see between the cracks
the child realises you are not what you sayd
that you dont do what you say you do
the silent child knows but wont speak
poem by Vincent Brisebois
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Nightingale’s Song
A delegation of birds petitioned God
“Why is it you never chastise the nightingale? ”
God bid nightingale to speak;
“My way, she explained is different
March to June I sing
The other nine months, while others
Continue chirping, I am silent”
Sing your sweet songs beloved
While your Brethren clatter about
But know when to be silent...
That God may speak to you
(Inspired by Rumi)
ROTMS
poem by Ray Lucero
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Silent
I hear no voices inside my head.
I hear no echoes in the wind.
Everything is silent.
I now know how the deaf must feel.
A world with no sound.
Words that don't speak.
Silent.
Well I guess it's wrong of me
to compare my writer's block
to the deaf, but that how I
feel.
Lost, and frustrated.
Seeing lips move but unable hear the words.
I'm a poet who wants to speak but no sound
do I hear.
Silent!
Broken Silence
My silence is now broken.
I can speak the words.
I can Just begin to speak the words.
But painfull it still is.
At least I can.
Now begin to speak.
I was silent for so long.
never could brake the barrier.
To allow me to speak.
Now my silence is broken.
I can speak about it very little.
But at least the
Door is open.
The journey
I can take.
But can I face it?
Soon I shall no.
poem by Amy Louise Kerswell
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Speak... Or Else Be Silent!
if you must speak,
speak not of distance or seperation!
speak without claiming identity,
without shouting, 'self'!
speak without grasping,
clawing, and holding.
keep your judgements to yourself!
i dont need to know the color of your god,
or what war you say he was born during.
i am more refugee than disciple,
i will not follow!
speak not of streets of gold
where angels play harps!
let us speak of these streets...
hard and raw, struggling and fighting,
dimly lit, stinking of urine.
littered with the trash of human lives.
speak of the exploding flash we call moment,
and the kingdom of heaven
that sweats and bleeds!
speak of the cries of the children!
speak of hunger and poverty,
injustices, and the cry for equality!
speak of the god that inhabits
the bodies of the lost and oppressed,
their faces etched by human cruelty...
scarred by apathy and indifference.
speak the truth!
bark like a dog,
meow like a cat,
chirp like a sparrow,
beat rhythm with your wings!
speak living words....
or else be silent!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Your Silence
I have spoken long enough
I have spoken well enough
Now let me be silent
And see how Silence speaks
Hear the words unspoken
For you could never speak
And whenever I asked you
All I could ever hear, was:
Your Silence…
Yes, that very Silence of yours
Which sucked all my life out
making me feel miserable
day in and day out
Still I kept holding on,
hoping on and hanging on…
If you could ever speak
Yet you never spoke up
Instead, offered me a challenge
A challenge to a broken heart?
A challenge to a defeated soul?
Oh! How Ruthless you could be…
And still you ever want me
To keep hearing your silence
And make some meaning of it all
I told you long before
Silence never works for me
I am a woman of words…
It might work well for you
So be it, my love…
If that is what you call ‘friendship’
Let you be silent
And me be too
And we can still remain ‘friends’
For if you speak
And I speak too
Who knows, One day
We might become foes…
And I would rather die
A Friend of yours
Than choose to be a Foe.
poem by Aparna Chatterjee
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This 1 S 4 U
be a model
when you speak
of suicide
be brave
and be a man
when you lecture
about suicide
be cool
and be strong
and be candid
when the theme
is suicide
be truthful and be
kind when you lecture
about suicide
do not leave
us all guilty
be fair and be just
when you write a poem
about suicide when you say
there is nowhere to run
there is nowhere to hide
be clear and be not hardheaded
when you speak
about this goddamn suicide
be sympathetic
have a little empathy
compassion
and be honest when you
begin to touch
on suicide
have faith
and be specific about it
when you speak of suicide
say who
fix when and what means
what end
and be reasonable about
why........
then do it, if you will
if you won't
don't ever speak about it
again
if you speak
then you will be
dead
and if you are silent
then you
are damned
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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There Are Those Who Irritate
in the same manner
there are those who are not irritated
they know how to maintain
poise
despite the storm
to be sensible despite
the plagiarism
they become more of themselves
as others
go beyond their nature
they are silent when you speak
they remain silent
even if you are silent too
oh, they are just themselves
despite the
volcanic eruptions
oh, they remain calm
even if
all are screaming
running
even if the world is dead
they remain
growing like moss
like lichens
like cockroaches like flies.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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Fear Of Saying
What is inside us wants to speak
Always
Wants to speak
It is we however who want it silenced
Because always we have all the reasons
To just be silent
Afraid always
That this self may break into pieces and then there is no way to repair it
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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We should keep silent about those in power; to speak well of them almost implies flattery; to speak ill of them while they are alive is dangerous, and when they are dead is cowardly.
quote by Jean de la Bruyere
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Silence Is
Silence is sitting back in the recliner after a day
at work when the radio was too loud.
Silence is hearing the birds singing after hearing
neighbors bickering.
Silence is listening to beloved hymns after hearing
yourself complaining about things that cannot be changed.
Silence is reading the words of Rumi after reading news of
rape, murder and molestation.
When one is silent about another's wrongdoings, silence is
the sound of the devil shouting. So speak up, and he will
not be heard!
When one is silent in prayer and rest, silence is the sound
of God talking. So speak up, so He may be heard!
Yes, when God talks to you, let Him talk through you!
Be silent no longer!
poem by Greg Oosterhouse
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When silent men speak they speak to the purpose.
Reading Laozi
Speak person not know know person silent
This saying I hear from old gentleman
If Way old gentleman be know person
Reason what confident five thousand characters
Those who speak do not know, those who know are silent,
I heard this saying from the old gentleman.
If the old gentleman was one who knew the way,
Why did he feel able to write five thousand words?
311
today the cat and the dog of this house
have a holiday of their eternal quarrel
and jealousy
none speaks a bad word for each other
none of them
initiates an argument about whom
of them the master
loves better
none of them
speaks ill about the other neighboring cats
or dogs
the dog does not speak about the bone
the cat does not speak about the rats
both of them are silent and sad
and none wants to speak
beside their master
he is sick and dying.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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The Cat And The Dog In The House Of Their Master
today the cat and the dog of this house
have a holiday of their eternal quarrel
and jealousy
none speaks a bad word for each other
none of them
initiates an argument about whom
of them the master
loves better
none of them
speaks ill about the other neighboring cats
or dogs
the dog does not speak about the bone
the cat does not speak about the rats
both of them are silent and sad
and none wants to speak
beside their master
sick and dying.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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The Same Story, The same History
...and so the same story is told
the same history is made....
why always speak of descrimination
why always speak of war
why always speak of class
why always speak of injustice
why always speak of poverty
why always speak of rebellion....
why not speak of equality
why not speak of peace
why not speak of respect
why not speak of wisdom
why not speak of production
why not speak of working together...
...and so the same story is told
the same history is made.
poem by Marites C. Cayetano
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O Children!
O Children why do you make mockery of the old?
What gives you that audaciousness to be bold?
Hasn’t anyone spoken, have you not been told?
Your time for maturing, you cannot put on hold
Silent children, speak quietly
Silent children, speak gently
Address me not rudely
I speak to you all fondly
I see you all; I have been there before
Like a thief I want to creep
Back on the other side of age’s door
Today I weep, I weep and I weep
O Eternal youth thou cannot keep!
O Children, Children, Why the innocence?
With a deceptive facial display that is intense
I see through you all, I see the entire pretence
You say you are sorry, it’s a lie, I can sense
O Children why do you seek to grow so fast?
Your flowering youth is not meant to last
Before long it will wrinkle away into the past
Soon you shall become a mere outcast
In the land of youth and that is the truth
poem by Sylvia Chidi
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