I Hear the Silent Singing

I hear the silent singing,

the hushed carols I hear. 

Those of the bruised and beaten, 

each singing their story as they should be.

The single mother singing as she fights for her baby girl’s next meal.

The unemployed man singing as he searches for a job that doesn’t exist,

and leaves from the house that he can no longer afford. 

The gambler singing of his prizes in despair,

singing for the family he traded for his wealth. 

The broken child singing to drown out the shouts of anger from below.

Singing to a higher power to glue the pieces back together 

I hear the songs of the downtrodden. 

Loudly singing through the gags placed in their mouths. 

Author's Note

This is an English assignment where I had to use "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman and create a poem loosely based on the structure of his poem. I just really enjoyed writing this poem and wanted to share it.