Writing by Keith Makar
I sit in stillness
My mind is quiet
My heart is peaceful
I don’t make a sound
I listen
I listen to the music of the world
I hear the joy in the rain
I hear the laughter in the sunshine
I hear the grief of loss
I hear the love in hearts
I am so quiet; I hear the song of souls
I hear the words they want to say, even if they can’t speak
I hear the world because I listen.
Founders’ note: Not everyone is born with the ability to use their voice. Not everyone can easily communicate their thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams. With Out Loud, we’re give nonspeaking people in our community the opportunity to be heard. The authors are students at Mouth to Hand Learning Center (M2H) in Mount Kisco.
About this piece:
Having been unable to talk meaningfully my entire life, I have become very good at listening. Because it hurt so much to be misunderstood, I decided to make myself listen to and understand those around me. And because I listen so closely, I hear things others don’t. Now that I can talk, I find that I still hear more than most people. I’m an empath, like so many nonspeakers. It’s like we feel more than speaking people. I often wonder what the world would be like if we all took the time to listen.
Keith Makar is a student at M2H in Mount Kisco. He loves writing poetry more than anything.
If you’d like to read more poetry by Keith and his peers, you can buy “SpellBound: The Voices of the Silent” here. (All profits from the book go to Mouth to Hand Parent Association, whose mission is to enrich the lives of their students, both socially and educationally.)
This article was published in the November/December 2023 print edition of Connect to Northern Westchester.
