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Speak Out

Abigail Rudolph

I am warning you. Do
not tell me to be quiet. Do not
tell me to sit down and behave. Go
on. I dare you to tell me to be gentle
with my words and actions. Tell me to keep all my passion in
my head. Tell me to
ignore the storm in my head that
begs me to scream. To stand up. To speak out against the "good"
rules that you have designed to hold me back. I will fight all through the night.

I will rage
against you. I will speak out against the rage
you have cast upon me to make me silent. Never again! I will speak
against
the mold you have set out for me. Against the
rules that bind me. I will rage until my dying
days. I will speak of
truth and freedom. I will speak of the
hope of love and light

Abigail Rudolph is seventeen years old and attends Southeast High School. “Speak Out” received an Honorable Mention in the Manatee Libraries and 805 Teen Poetry Contest.

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