Be silent (poem of Aziz Nesin) Be silent; don’t speak. It is a shame; stop your voice; Be silent already. And if speech is made of silver Silence is made of gold. The first words I heard as a child when I cried, laughed, played were “be silent!” At school they told me half truths they told me: “what do you care? Be silent” When a girl first kissed me, they told me “Shhh be silent; don’t say a word” Stop your voice; and don’t speak; be silent. This went on until I became 20 years old. The words of the grown up; the silence of the child. I saw blood in the streets “what do you care” they told me “you gonna get in trouble, be silent” Later on my bosses got angry “don’t get involved; keep your nose clean; be silent” I got married, had children; I taught them to be silent My wife was loyal and industrious and knew how to be silent. She had a prudent mother who told her: “be silent” During leap years my parents, my neighbors advised me “be silent; don’t get involved; pretend you did not see anything; be silent” We might have not had an envied relationship with our neighbors But we were connected to them by “be silent” “Be silent” this person said and that one. Those high up: “be silent” Those below: “be silent.” “Be silent” said our neighborhood “Be silent” our city. We swallowed our tongue. We have a mouth but no voice We even formed an association: “The silent ones” And there were many of us: a whole country, a big power But mute We were successful; we reached high goals; we received medals and rewards Only with “be silent” This “be silent” a great art. Teach it to your children, your wife, your mother in law And when you feel the need to speak Deracinate your tongue Make it stop. Cut it off completely Throw it to the dogs It is an unnecessary tool when you don’t use it correctly. You will sleep well at night this way; no nightmares; no doubts; no guilt You will not feel ashamed in front of your kids You will save yourself from having to speak To say “you are right; I am like you; one of you” But ahhh! How -Wretched me- How I wish I could speak But you will not You will become a salivating verbalist Cut off your tongue Cut it off now Become a mute Since you are not gonna speak; you should dare that much. Cut off your tongue. This way you will be consistent with my plans With my dreams I retain my tongue amidst tears and cries Because I fear that there will come a moment Where I won’t be able to take it anymore I will burst out I won’t be afraid I will hope And every minute I will fill my throat With one syllable One whisper One stutter One howl Which will tell me: SPEAK!