My friend told me silence was the loudest cry, 
but if I write it down, 
does that count? 

If I scribble it out in jumbled phrases–
carve words into my paper 
and not my skin, this time, 
does that count? 

Am I silent, then, 
if the pain I feel shows through. 
Does that count? 

If you see it as clearly as you see my face, 
because I can’t hide it, 
even if it is unsaid. 
Does that count? 

If the words I bite back 
come out in the essence of my walk,
does it count as silence?