Free Speech-The Spoken Word

The voice released, a torrent and a stream,

A flood of questions, or a fevered dream.

It pulls down curtains that have long been drawn,

And brings the silent, hidden things to dawn.

The poet's verse, the protest in the square,

A tool to fight the tyrant and the snare.

It gives the powerless a chance to rise,

To lift the hood from blind and fearful eyes.

It builds a bridge where once the canyon yawned,

And seeds the ground for futures yet unthawed.

But from the same deep well, the poison flows,

The quiet cruelty that festers and grows.

The whispered lie, the slander in the breeze,

The ugly word that brings a soul to its knees.

A reckless shout, a fire in the hall,

That makes the bravest spirit stumble and fall.

The bridge of reason burned by hurried hate,

A storm unleashed, with no retreat, too late.

It gives the hateful, license to incite,

And drowns the truth within a raging night.

So, stand we here, upon this shifting ground,

Where both the balm and bitter sting are found.

The gift, a weapon, sharp and double-edged,

A sacred trust, a promise often pledged.

To speak the good, to use the voice with care,

And know the shadow that it can ensnare.

For every word that makes a justice true,

Another stands to make a world anew.