I learned how to wait my turn Before I learned to speak Eyes level with the table edge Hope running thin and weak I talked soft, stood real still Learned how to disappear When louder voices filled the room Mine failed to persevere I was never asking for the crown Just a little room to stand Funny how quiet feels so loud When it’s chosen by a hand I’m small, not silent I’ve been learning how to wait I didn’t come this far to sing Inside the cracks of your taste From down here, every note Had to learn to carry weight I found a voice that held me up Even when it learned to shake Music was the door I pushed With fear still in my chest Every song a step forward Every word a test I watched you build a platform From voices not your own Then say it’s just what you prefer When some get left below You say it isn’t personal Just what you want to hear Funny how that answer lands On the ones who disappear I’m small, not background Not a sound you get to fade You call it choice and curation I call gates getting raised I fought hard for every line Every breath I ever gave I found a voice worth keeping You turned it down with "taste" I don’t need your chair or height To know where I belong The ground remembers every step That learned to carry on You frame silence like respect Dress exclusion up as care But taste ain’t neutral power When you’re the one up there I stopped mistaking closed off doors For something I should chase Some voices grow the strongest When they leave that space I’m small, still standing I don’t need your space This song learned how to breathe Outside your narrow taste You never had to hear me You never owed me grace You just didn’t have to shut the gate On the voice I fought to make You never had to like it. You just didn’t have to shut it down.
