There was a time
when the noise inside of me
was no more than a ripple
a distant murmur
a breathless whisper
until my silence
was seen as provocation
then my whispers
became war cries
and now I stand here
in the thick of the brouhaha
my heart beating like a drum
my soul a trembling string
plucked by the arguments of others
becoming an unbearable clamour
I wear a mask and hide from it all
but even here, amidst the chaos
my quiet self endures it all
a single reed, resisting the flood
a knowing eye, keeping watch
in the centre of the storm
© Ann Bagnall
Annie's Poetry 