“A penny for your Silence, Martha?” My sister asked,
One night when we were both alone.
“You’re no longer as loud as you usually are and you barely talk at all”
I shook my head and pulled on a smile that felt too big for my face,
And it felt so fake
That the edges of my lips began to shake.

“A penny for your silence, Martha?” My mother asked while she helped me pack
“You’re always so quiet these days,
Not quite as playful and loud as you were before UNIBEN.
You said you were fine when you got back but you’ve been deathly silent since…
“Nothing’s wrong mother” I replied “with the same pain tinted smile,
“I guess I’m just always lost in the moment”

I wish I could’ve told them
That someone had bought my silence,
At a price I deemed to great to share.
My room mate’s boyfriend, Derek,
Had stolen my pride without a care.
My CGPA is crashing,
And all I can do is stare.
I’m stressed, I can’t concentrate and I’m scarred beyond repair.
And it breaks me every time you guys jokingly ask “A penny for your silence”
Because it’s already been bought
By an idiot with light blue sandals.