Muteness
By KR
America
For over half
of my natural existence
in this world
I’ve lingered
In sullen silence
Slowly withering away
like a dandelion without water
Battling the cruelty
of solitary confinement
Which equates
to a sophisticated form
of no-touch torture
and subliminal violence
But simply because I occupy
this small confined space
in repressed silence
doesn’t mean I don’t have
anything to say
about this inhumane fashion
of psychological abuse
you continue to force
me to embrace….
Muteness.
31 Comments
Leave a Comment
The poets featured here are currently incarcerated, and many of them are in federal prisons far from home. Your feedback is a valuable source of motivation and connection to the outside community. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem. Messages will be passed on directly to the author. Comments may not appear immediately on the site, as our team processes them to mail to the poets.
This poem is written beautifully. I really love the ways you compare your own silence to the confines of solitary confinement. This poem also does a phenomenal job of vividly describing the feeling of being mute, which I found very cool. Bravo!
Wow. This moved me. I am so sorry they’ve done this to you.
This is gut wrenching and so well written. I am thinking about you and sending you love. I really appreciate you sharing your experience.
That’s a powerful poem with incredible prose, and all the while being absolutely heartbreaking to read. Hang in there, KR. I’m rooting for you.
Your words speak eloquently of your suffering, but not suffering in silence. They speak volumes about your isolation and the torture of solitary confinement. Thank you for writing. Please keep writing!
This poem is so powerful it gave me chills when I read it, demanding attention to the pervasive nature of psychological abuse and the ways in which people are silenced and the cycle is perpetuated. Thank you for your words.
Solitary confinement represents isolation and oppression, while muteness symbolizes the suppression of voices. Combined, they highlight the experience of being silenced in societal structures.
Wow, this poem was touching. You use your words beautifully to describe your experience. You have a true gift!
Absolutely you have a voice. Confinement shouldn’t have to equal muteness. as cruel as this country might be, we all have the freedom of speech. People come to America for the sole reason of freedom and liberty. Speak your mind even if your voice quivers.
Hello KR,
I feel a pain I could never understand, so glad you can transcend your muteness through your poetry. Powerful phrases evoke your pain – lingered in sullen silence; subliminal violence; repressed silence; a forced embracing of muteness. Thank you so much for capturing the essence of the torture, all the more powerful because you used your voice.
Lindy
Your poem resonates with a poignant portrayal of the stifling silence and isolation experienced within the confines of societal norms and expectations. The comparison of the speaker’s existence to a withering dandelion emphasizes the gradual erosion of vitality in the face of oppression and psychological torment. The imagery of solitary confinement as a form of no-touch torture highlights the profound impact of social and psychological constraints on individual agency and expression. Despite being rendered mute by external forces, the speaker’s words echo with a powerful indictment of the inhumane treatment endured, challenging the status quo and demanding recognition of their silenced voice.
KR, your word choice does a great job in conveying emotion. Thank you for words and choosing to not suffer in silence.
This is such a touching, powerful poem. I love your use of short broken sentences/phrases, they not only make the reader anxious to read on but also contribute to the central message of the poem: the idea that muteness is found in solitary confinement – through an inability to speak completely.
KR,
This poem is incredibly powerful and incredibly heartbreaking. I hope you continue to have the courage to speak out against the unjustness of the system and perpetuating cycle. Your words are heard and mean something to people. You are an inspiration. I hope you continue to say what you are thinking.
This poem showed me many emotions and made me think about what life is like in jail and I felt their emotions spill out of them like a waterfall. This person clearly had something to say and they said it perfectly.
The poem “Muteness” was a very beautiful to read. It puts into perspective what it is like to feel overshadowed. I liked the analogy of the dandelion and flower without water. The words “no touch torture” and “subliminal violence” fully capture the inhumanness of solitary confinement. I liked how the poems title is “muteness” and ends with “muteness.” As a viewer, I learned a lot from the poem. You are so strong and worthy of human decency. I will remember this poem and continue to advocate against solitary confinement.
This poems makes me feel powered. The part where you said battling the cruelty of the worlds was such a powering line. The world can be beautiful but it can also be very cruel. Your poems shows the true meaning of like in America. I’m rooting for your success.
Thank you for sharing your poem “Muteness”. It paints a clear picture of the struggle against silence and psychological abuse. The imagery you use when you say “Slowly withering away like a dandelion without water” gives us the effect of helplessness and isolation. Your emphasis on occupying a small space but having something to say speaks volumes about the injustice of being silenced and the importance of speaking out about such abuse. I believe this poem can relate to many others experiencing something similar. Regarding feedback, I think that exploring the emotional impact of this abuse can increase the reader’s empathy as well as add layers of complexity to this poem. Thank you for speaking out.
This poem really speaks to the fragility of a person.The comparison to a dandelion allows readers to get a sense of how important interaction is and without it a person can feel as if they are lost or without support. In a way, this poem has allowed you to voice yourself and can be seen as a way of fighting against that ‘muteness’. This was a beautiful poem, thank you for sharing!
KR, this poem was so powerful. Our society incarcerates people but doesn’t consider how those people are feeling and how being confined effects them psychologically. I thought this was a powerful way to show the effects of such a serious issue. I wish you the best and hope you’re doing well. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for sharing your poem. It conveys such profound emotion and isolation. Your words resonate deeply, emphasizing that silence does not equate to a lack of voice or experience. Thank you for sharing this impactful piece
This poem is very powerful. It captures the feelings of isolation and oppression, using vivid imagery like “a dandelion without water” to symbolize slow decay. The comparison of solitary confinement to psychological torture emphasizes the emotional weight of silence and repression.
As I read this poem I imagined a quiet room at first until I realized it was so much more than that. In this piece I found several occupied spaces, several rooms and doors. This poem has layers and it is a fantastic read. I think at the beginning and the end, there’s always going to be quietness and that is the most comforting thing, picked apart from this piece. Thank you
This poem beautifully illustrates the struggles you went through and allows others to emphasize with it. Despite everything that was taken from you, this is a great start to taking it back and letting others understand the importance of psychological abuse.
This poem really captures the weight of isolation. Comparing muteness to “no-touch torture” shows how silence itself can be a kind of cruelty, wearing down a person without leaving visible scars. The image of a “dandelion without water” hits hard—it shows how confinement slowly drains life and spirit. It’s a powerful, honest look at how being silenced feels like a form of abuse.
Your words are powerful. Despite the silence and pain, your voice is still strong. Keep fighting and hold on to your strength. The struggle doesn’t define you—your resilience does. Keep pushing forward; you are not alone. Thank you for sharing!
Your poem is such a powerful and full of emotion. The image of a “dandelion without water” really shows the pain of fading away. I also felt the weight of “no-touch torture” and how it highlights the harm of being silenced. Ending with “Muteness” ties it all together and leaves a strong impact. Thank you for sharing this.
this is a great poem with a very relatable premise. the feeling of being silenced may seem like an everyday common experience but it can have a major impact on some. what you discuss being forced into confinement no one to hear you is astonishing. I could only imagine that kind of agony, fiending for just the smallest amount of human interaction due to the long distance from it. as someone who has felt very silenced throughout my life, I can relate to the feeling to a degree. thank you for sharing and great work.
I just read your poem and it was touching and bone chilling at the same time. It can be tough to not have a place to go, and just linger, but then to fight it alone. Being confined shouldn’t mean you are silenced from it. Even if speaking up isn’t your thing, don’t let that fear hold you back from saying something! Everyone has the right to speak their mind and not get shut out from it! You opened up on a very sensitive subject and I enjoyed being able to read this and know that you got this and don’t let others shut you out!
This is a great piece of work. It is hard to understand and feel how it feels to be in such a harsh environment for someone to be living for as long as you mentioned you have. It is freeing to know that you have been able to write and state your thoughts and share it with people through this website, with your poem about “muteness”. It shook me when you said that just because you are alone in a confinement doesn’t mean that you don’t have anything to say. I 100% agree that socializing is important to stay sane, and through this poem I can feel the pain you must feel, by being alone and feeling lonely. Thank you for sharing.
this sounds like a very tough situation but you wrote about it very wonderfully. keep writing. this is amazing.