This is not a quiet voice

They say

I shouldn’t be so proud.

That my voice does not always need to be heard -

I can quiet down a little bit.

Strap a muzzle of your hate to my mouth until all the noise is suppressed.

“We know you’re Salvadoran.”

“Stop trying to tokenize yourself.”

I apologize - I seem to have forgotten

you’ve painted an illusion you own the rights to this voice

My muzzle only comes off when it allows you to mark off the diversity check on your paper

Well, excuse me as I erase my identity and craft it to your liking

Code switch to make you comfortable

This is not a quiet voice

This voice was nurtured and cultured by generations of Centenos, Valladares

They will stand up with their Banderas and shout

“We are from El Salvador!”

They suffered and struggled to give me this life

So the next time you say I should

Quiet down a little bit

Don’t be so proud

I will stand up and shout

This is not a quiet voice

This voice was taught to shout and sing the words of love and pride