He heard the word,
short and simple,
two letters that should crash like thunder.
But to him it was only sound,
only air escaping a mouth he thought he owned—
not a boundary, not a wall,
not the end of his wanting.
To me,
no was a trembling gate,
a last light flickering in a dark hallway,
a prayer wrapped in one syllable.
No is not an invitation.
No is not a challenge.
No is a line drawn in shaking hands
that still deserves the strength of stone.
No means my body is not a battlefield.
No means my silence is not surrender.
No means I am still a human being
even when you forget how to see me.
He thought no was weakness—
something to push through, talk over, reshape.
But no is a language learned through pain,
a word carved from history,
from warnings, from broken voices,
from those who were never listened to.
No is not small.
It is the loudest word in the world
when you finally choose to hear it.
And the man who does not know no
is not powerful—
He is afraid
of a world where he is not in control.
So I say it again.
No.
And this time,
it echoes.
-
Author:
Aaron Roberson (
Offline) - Published: December 3rd, 2025 17:40
- Comment from author about the poem: I was assaulted on the 4th of July I said no he didn't care it took me months to be semi okay and alot of my work speaks for itself
- Category: Sociopolitical
- Views: 6
Offline)
Comments2
A strong poem with powerful sentiment. It speaks to the right one has to their own body. Well stated
Thank you
Most welcome
Relevant title. Might have a good message, but I can't read it. Who are you anyway?
Why can't you read it? And I'll talk more about me later
Dark red background. Not everyone has 20/20 vision, son. Oh keep us in suspense, why don't you.....
Sorry I did change it was it better or is it still hard to read??
Read perfectly. Feels like you went through a very traumatic experience there. I do hope you are able, in your own time, to put this behind you.
Look after yourself.
Thank you and yes I'm trying to get thru it I was actually about to a couple more of my poems
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