On Mute
Silence vs silenced
By Sonia Heidi UnruhPublished about a year ago • Updated about a year ago • 1 min read

Photo by Thiébaud Faix on Unsplash
"Shut up! Shut your mouth!"
"I just --"
"Listen, I'm warning you. Don't push me. I'm sick of it."
"Each time I try --"
"No more crap from you! Keep it to yourself. You have nothing to say. Nothing."
"Can't I even --"
"Every time you open your mouth, I'm going to shut it for you. You hear? I said, do you hear?"
[ ]
About the Creator
Sonia Heidi Unruh
I love: my husband and children; all who claim me as family or friend; the first bite of chocolate; the last blue before sunset; solving puzzles; stroking cats; finding myself by writing; losing myself in reading; the Creator who is love.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insight
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions


Comments (10)
Powerful
Oof! A hard subject, and very well expressed!
Silencing caught in the act! Incredible use of a dialogue exchange
Deeply, deeply tragic. Such a powerful choice to have the last line be a literal frightened silence, after that horrible threat. This is awful but so well done.
This is so heartbreaking but accurately depicted in your poem. Very well written
Ooh, very different direction, this is horrible. Well written and everything but, well, horrible to experience.
To not have a voice is the worst. The threat in this was powerfully conveyed.
🥲
A painful, raw and revelatory read. You have made silence speak here, and the tidings are not glad, though I am glad to have read them.
Ugh, this was so ugly and in your face. Really well constructed, Sonia!!