Poem: Speak Up

I turn on the news
I see the hate.
I feel guilty
For not speaking up.
When family
When friends
Joke and tease
Speak untruths
Seemingly innocently
It’s never “appropriate”.
It’s never
“The right time”
“The right place”.
They’re never
“In the mood”.
“Live peaceably with others
So much as it depends on you”
These words I try to live
Perhaps too well.
What happened to
The boy I was
Who tried to be right
While not knowing what was?
Tried to be right
Unafraid to try alone?
Am I so changed
To sacrifice honor
For peace?
No.
I am not.
I feel the burning call.
It is time
To speak up.
To call upon
The boy I was
To stand for right.
Even if
I stand alone
Even if
I speak alone
I am going to
Speak up.