{"sf1_id":2169438,"sf2_id":"rnaYXZ9n","title":"Why Don’t You Speak A Little Louder","author":"Apolarbear17","words":306,"posted_at":"2024-08-23T21:15:23.000Z","tags":["Autism awareness month","Poetry","conversation","experiences","perspective","silence"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2169438-why-don-t-you-speak-a-little-louder","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/rnaYXZ9n","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/b9/59/b959e0e2-fb51-4382-9732-d08106947907","description":"Wrote this for the end of Autism Awareness Month last year. I’d like to think all my poetry comes from my perspective as an autistic person but this poem talks about silence and just the way I communicate. Originally written at the end of April 2023, originally posted at the beginning of May 2023.","content":"\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Why Don’t You Speak A Little Louder\n\n \n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;By: A.X. Bueno\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\n \n\nSpeaking up for yourself has always been a struggle\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nIt’s not easy when there’s many voices to juggle\n\n \n\nIn the conversation that is along with that inner voice that’ll pop up in your head\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nTelling you not to speak up or interrupt as if you have something worthy of being said\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nSo you hesitate even though you know that’s wrong\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nThere’s just that feeling that you’d screw up by talking because you don’t belong\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nFeeling out of sync and invisible in a sense to those around\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nSometimes you’ll get reassured that that’s in your head but others it’ll be that way\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nSo you find it easier to not make an unnecessary sound\n\n \n\nYou’ll keep silent as you feel you need to to try and have an easier day\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nAnd that can work well to keep harsh comments and unwanted attention at bay\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nThey wonder why you stay silent and it’s mostly for defense\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nThere’s been times you’ve been snapped at for forgetting not to add your two cents\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nYou can be impulsive and let that get to you\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nWanting to help out when it’s something you felt you knew\n\n \n\nOf course it’s not any person’s or any individual experiences fault for you to place blame\n\n \n\nPlenty of this is on the machinations of your own brain\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nFor that’s also how you are and you’ve got people you feel comfortable enough to trust\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nStill they tell you to speak up more and sometimes that just feels unjust\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nSure a good chunk of your hesitancy to is your own brain but there’s still bad experiences too\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nIf only there was a bit more understanding and patience towards why you struggle\u0026nbsp;\n\n \n\nAnd how there’s reasons to why and how much circumstantially you don’t or do  \n\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;"}