Voice

I once believed that I had to be

quiet

reliant

subservient

It began on a sunny morning

like many tragic things do

A silent room, loud thoughts

it took only a second

like many tragic things do.

I forgot what it felt like

to feel

unapologetically

without my words tra i l i n g o f f

into apologies.

Like a black hole at the center of a star,

I collapsed into myself

The beginning of the end

as they say.

What does it feel like to taste

the salt from my eyes

that rests daily on my chest

slowly

but

surely

eroding pieces of myself.

I spend my days underwater

I have no need for your

breath on my skin to remind me that I am

alive.

I once believed that I had to be

quiet

reliant

subservient

But I remember now

that this sound that shakes the earth

is the sound

of my voice.

About Tamoghna Dey

Tamoghna Dey is a Bangladeshi, born and brought up in Oman, studying filmmaking at NYU Abu Dhabi. She works with poetry and the moving image to create poetic narratives that reflect on deeply personal topics of identity, mental health, abuse and trauma.

Instagram: @tea.dey

Edited by Emiru Okada

Graphic by Emily Mogami