House of the Unsilenced, hear us roar,

Beyond the four walls of our open space,

Hear us raise our voices with dignity and grace,

Harmonising our experiences into a symphony of sounds,

Amplifying our stories in digital surround,

Multiple narratives, mastered into one,

Yet not a “single story”,

Rather an intentional anthology,

Of entrusted vulnerabilities,

Whispered disclosures,

Stuttered secrets,

And survivors’ triumphs,

Hidden no longer,

Unveiled and unmasked,

Unrepressed and expressed,

Can you hear the sound?

Resounding, Reverberating,

Approaching a Crescendo,

House of the Unsilenced,

Hear us roar.

~ October 2019

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Story behind the poem:

This was yet another poem that was prompted, triggered, birthed, inspired (not sure which word is most fitting) by something I heard someone say.

The specific someone was Eliza Vitri, who in her own words is a “Novelist, Artist, Rebel”. She was one of the panelist’s during a session at the Ubud Writers Readers Festival, entitled ‘Life after #MeToo’.

Towards the end of the session, Eliza mentioned an art project called House of the Unsilenced that began in 2018. Immediately on hearing those 4 words, the beginnings of a poem began in my head. The line that came to me in that moment was,

house of the unsilenced, hear us roar.

I decided that I would try and see where it would go, and if it did go anywhere, that I would try and share it. During my flight home a few days later, I finished writing something that felt shareable. Now I’ve shared it publicly with you. Feel free to share it yourself if you think it will connect with someone you know.

~~~~~

*Optional extras:

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