MISSION STATEMENT

SILENT VOICES SPEAK started out as Silent Voices: A Writer’s Workshop, as the first group at the drop-in center at the Broadway location of Community Counseling Centers of Chicago, whose purpose is to empower it’s attendees to form and attend their own groups.

We have branched out as an independent entity. We are silent no more. We say yes to the creative possibilities of life & art...

The mission of SILENT VOICES SPEAK is to give a voice to people who are disenfranchised. Many of the participants in SILENT VOICES SPEAK are also visual and/or performing artists.

Membership is open to all.
Send submissions to lizhipwell@gmail.com.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

FEAR by Beth Polelle

            I was on a platform, ready to catch a train. I was feeling dizzy and felt like I might fall. I grabbed onto someone and said, “Sorry, I’m not feeling well. I feel like I might fall.”
            The lady smiled and said, “That’s all right.”
            The train pulled up. I stepped on the train. I sat down and tried to think of how I was going to get down the stairs. The train pulled in to the stop. I stepped off the train and headed for the stairs. I held onto the railing. I almost fell, but caught myself. I decided I would take the bus to work. As I crossed the street I was fearful. I hurried across the street and caught the bus. I started thinking about all my fears and worried about how I was going to deal with them.
             'I am fearful of a lot of things,' I thought to myself. Fear, to me, is a very scary feeling. I reached my destination. I went to work right away. When I'm at work people are not always in the best mood. Everything has to be done right and at a good pace.
             I don't get out of work until dark. I looked at my coworker and said, "What time do you leave work?"
             She turned to me and said, "Not until 8:30 pm."
             I told her, "That's the time I leave." I went back to my work. I looked at the clock. It was only 7:45, forty five minutes left, fears were creeping up on me. This was the third time I had to leave late.

-Beth Polelle