You come to find your voice by speaking
Not by planning to speak
or reading transcripts of speeches
or buying courses to make your voice sound best
when you finally open your mouth
at some point in the distant future.
You come to find your voice
by uttering the truest words you have
in any given moment.
I hurt.
I’m struggling.
I can’t.
The first words are the hardest.
You’ve been silent for so long.
I need help.
I want some more.
I’d like to try.
The words grow more precise and powerful.
I need.
I want.
I am.
You’ll waver, here: the world will say
you don’t have the right.
I need, I want, I am.
I need, I want, I am.
By now you’ve come too far to honor any sound
save the steady drumbeat of your own heart.
I am, I am, I am,
and you are, too.
I’ll read this poem aloud to you AND talk the vulnerability of joy, diving deep into your psyche, creating healthy boundaries, and the wisdom of puppies in this interview on the Love, Jo podcast with Joanna Platt. Go and listen!
