To Speak is to Live

Teresa Harrison-Best wrote this poem following the atrocities in Paris on Wednesday.  

She has written it as a tribute to the people who lost their lives because they chose freedom over tyranny. May they Rest in Peace …

To Speak is to live

You can burn me, shoot me, hunt me down,
you can never take my voice.
You can threaten me with untold things,
you must make your choice.

You think your violence shuts me up,
you should think again.
You think that weapons fight your cause,
you see them as a friend.

You blame me for my right to speak,
you spurn my chosen words.
You stifle freedom with your gun,
you think you will subvert.

You have no right to punish me,
you act without God’s will.
You stand alone in what you say,
you win because you kill?

You castigate me for my views,
you think you can supress.
You, my friend, have lost the war
as I will not be oppressed.

Written by: Teresa Harrison-Best