Subtle Shifts, Silent Voices

It’s not always the loudest voices in the room.
It’s the subtle shifts…
that silence you
from being you.

The exhaustion of having to over-explain.
The quiet complaints to seniors —
as if you don’t have any of your own.

The everyone else can… but you can’t.
The we don’t have to… but you do.
The over-delegation disguised as “trust.”
The checking your work — again, and again.
The walking on eggshells no one else seems to notice.

It’s the weak leadership.
The absence of fairness.
The silence louder than words.

Losing your identity, piece by piece.
The how dare you go on a break —
but we’ll vape as much as we want.

The rules that shift when you question them.
The silence when you speak too loudly.
The cost of being “difficult.”

But something’s shifting.

It’s time to challenge outdated narratives
that no longer serve us.

We live in the UK.
We can challenge.
We can break the silence.
We can live in peace.
We can take up space.
We don’t have to over-explain.
We have value.

And we’re done asking for permission
to exist.