Poetry of Issue #7        Page 18

OWNING MY SPEECH

Can I own the way I talk?
Can I possess it, like an object,
and let the person I’m talking to
know that I own it?

I don’t want someone else
to own my speech.
I don’t want to acquiesce
to someone else’s interpretation.

So I’ll say things loud and clear,
and if I have to,
I’ll shout things in your ear,
so we’ll both know what I mean.

  Thaddeus Rutkowski