Sometimes I have words to speak
I open my mouth
but I’m silenced
I am heard
but ignored
I know I am heard
I know people watched
but it seems I am muffled
I am muffled by the age
that is labeled on to me
like the few words you get to speak out
on a resume
My age is nothing but a number
My look is nothing but a sighting
I may be seen as a 5 year old
a 60 year old
It won’t matter
but the words that have been spoken
from my vocal chords
that have been cut from the world
based on a number, a look
Sometimes I have words that come out
from my mouth
but are shut out by the hateful words
of another
Another human being
who expects to be respected
as a human being
but who has none
