Shut Up!

Written by my brother about twenty years ago, this is the first poem I ever read, and it was my inspiration to start writing poetry in my teenage years:


Shut up!

She wouldn’t shut up that first day I met her.
She wouldn’t shut up no matter how long and hard I pleaded.
She wouldn’t shut up even as my ears began to bleed in agony.
She wouldn’t shut up even after I fell asleep and when I woke up the next morning.
She would not shut up while I made breakfast and ate it.
She would not shut up as I ran from my house, never looking back.
But I tell you this, friends. She did shut up when I finally let her go.

- Sean



For twenty years, I foolishly read this poem thinking of myself as the "I" in the relationship. Like a damned fool, it took me two decades to identify with the "She."

Thank you, Sean, for inspiring me, even when I didn't really 'get' it. You were always a few steps ahead of me in some things. I appreciate the advice, even if I didn't take it.