Voice

In that voice which calls
from deepest heart and mind,
which speaks of justice
and of what should be,
if we are to have a world
where human rights abide,
so there will be many who
 are frequently offended.
And yet is it not greater,
that offence which comes
when we deny the truth
or seek to censor, make
tidy, that which is raw,
bleeding, brutal and unjust?
When we seek to silence
voices, because they make
us feel uncomfortable, or
because they do not fit
so neatly into the world
we wish to make, then
we seek in truth to
silence our very souls, and
it is not the voices which
die, but ourselves and our
hopes and our futures, and
worse, the hopes and futures
of those who will come after.