We live in a silent world. A world where everyone would rather stay silent than speak up, a world where eyes and ears are the only sources of evidence, but even those fail because mouths refuse to speak up. We live in a silent world because we keep our mouths closed, knowing that the noise inside our heads cannot be trusted with freedom. We cannot trust it. We cannot trust ourselves. We cannot trust you. We live in a silent world where there is no volume to our cries, no volume to our screams, a silent world because our screams seem to be locked inside our skulls and we only imagine we are speaking, but we are silent. We live in a silent world. A world where our mothers make excuses for their problems and hide every shard of tangible evidence, so that the only evidence remains our eyes and our ears, and soon our skin. *Your cheekbones are sagging lately. The bags under your eyes are complaining.* L'Oréal can smooth the secrets back under the surface, but under the surface is the brass of a cowbell, the clang of some cymbals,  and the beating of a big bass drum. How do we withstand that silence? We live in a silent world. We live in a world where stating our opinion is treated as disturbance and our discontent is treated as disrespect. A world where fathers leave bruises on their children's backs, straight through to their hearts, but are still praised by the public for their selfless giving of themselves to the community. A world where sexual intercourse did not take its course if there is no DNA and no media to prove it. Aren't we lucky, we live in a world where as long as we refuse to accept the truth, we are able to change our realities.  A world where nothing happened if you believe that nothing happened. A world where nothing happened if they tell you nothing happened. A world where all is silent because nothing ever happens. I live in a silent world. I live in a world where I'm taught to be still. I live in a world where tears stay behind my eyes and cries stay behind my lips, a world where everyone looks the other way. I live in a silent world because I am afraid I will not be heard.