--- title: "17 Speak Quotes By Audre Lorde" description: "17 Speak quotes by Audre Lorde. Plus more from Audre Lorde and more Speak sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/audre-lorde-758_inspirational_so-it-is-better-to-speak-remembering-we_2841815.jpg" --- > [So it is better to speak, remembering we were never meant to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/so-it-is-better-to-speak-remembering-we-were-never-meant-to-survive/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/audre-lorde-758_inspirational_so-it-is-better-to-speak-remembering-we_2841815.jpg) > [“We can learn to work and speak when we are afraid in the same way we have learned to work and speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/we-can-learn-to-work-and-speak-when-we-are-afraid-in-the-same-way-we/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/audre-lorde-758_fear_we-can-learn-to-work-and-speak-when-we-a_463339.jpg) > [Because the machine will try to grind you into dust anyway, whether or not we speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/because-the-machine-will-try-to-grind-you-into-dust-anyway-whether-or/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/029/audre-lorde-758_computers_because-the-machine-will-try-to-grind-yo_2598542.jpg) > [We have too often been expected to speak all things to all people and speak everyone else's position but our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/we-have-too-often-been-expected-to-speak-all-things-to-all-people-and/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cf/audre-lorde-758_all-things_we-have-too-often-been-expected-to-speak_2701490.jpg) > [I realize that if I wait until I am no longer afraid to act, write, speak, be, I'll be sending messages on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-realize-that-if-i-wait-until-i-am-no-longer-afraid-to-act-write/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f59/audre-lorde-758_boards_i-realize-that-if-i-wait-until-i-am-no-l_2041837.jpg) > [When I speak of the erotic, then I speak of it as an assertion of the life force of women; of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/when-i-speak-of-the-erotic-then-i-speak-of-it-as-an-assertion-of-the/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/audre-lorde-758_assertion_when-i-speak-of-the-erotic-then-i-speak_410542.jpg) > [For those of us who write, it is necessary to scrutinize not only the truth of what we speak, but the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-those-of-us-who-write-it-is-necessary-to-scrutinize-not-only-the/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/audre-lorde-758_language_for-those-of-us-who-write-it-is-necessar_869164.jpg) > [I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-write-for-those-women-who-do-not-speak-for-those-who-do-not-have-a/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/audre-lorde-758_fear_i-write-for-those-women-who-do-not-speak_852066.jpg) > [I have a duty to speak the truth as I see it and share not just my triumphs, not just the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-have-a-duty-to-speak-the-truth-as-i-see-it-and-share-not-just-my/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/audre-lorde-758_duty_i-have-a-duty-to-speak-the-truth-as-i-se_381275.jpg) > [We tend to think of the erotic as an easy, tantalizing sexual arousal. I speak of the erotic as the deepest life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/we-tend-to-think-of-the-erotic-as-an-easy-tantalizing-sexual-arousal/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/audre-lorde-758_arousal_we-tend-to-think-of-the-erotic-as-an-eas_2260960.jpg) > [The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fact-that-we-are-here-and-that-i-speak-these-words-is-an-attempt/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/501/audre-lorde-758_break_the-fact-that-we-are-here-and-that-i-spe_1429148.jpg) > [When I hear the deepest truths I speak coming out of my mouth sounding like my mother's, even remembering how I fought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/when-i-hear-the-deepest-truths-i-speak-coming-out-of-my-mouth/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/audre-lorde-758_coming-out_when-i-hear-the-deepest-truths-i-speak-c_260756.jpg) > [If you come as softly As wind within the trees You may hear what I hear See what sorrow sees. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/if-you-come-as-softly-as-wind-within-the-trees-you-may-hear-what-i/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/audre-lorde-758_death_if-you-come-as-softly-as-wind-within-the_1104853.jpg) > [My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/my-silences-had-not-protected-me-your-silence-will-not-protect-you/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/audre-lorde-758_contact_my-silences-had-not-protected-me-your-si_1679623.jpg) > [“Tell them about how you’re never really a whole person if you remain silent, because there’s always that one little piece inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/tell-them-about-how-you-re-never-really-a-whole-person-if-you-remain/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/audre-lorde-758_hotter_tell-them-about-how-you-re-never-really_2900625.jpg) > [And when the sun rises we are afraid it might not remain when the sun sets we are afraid it might not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/and-when-the-sun-rises-we-are-afraid-it-might-not-remain-when-the-sun/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/audre-lorde-758_empty_and-when-the-sun-rises-we-are-afraid-it_1076138.jpg) > [When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/when-we-speak-we-are-afraid-our-words-will-not-be-heard-or-welcomed/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/audre-lorde-758_heard_when-we-speak-we-are-afraid-our-words-wi_336891.jpg) ## Other authors on Speak ## More by Audre Lorde > [Every woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me, where I loved some invaluable piece of myself apart from me-so different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/every-woman-i-have-ever-loved-has-left-her-print-upon-me-where-i/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [There are many kinds of open. . . Love is a word, another kind of open. . . Take my word for jewel in your open light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-are-many-kinds-of-open-love-is-a-word-another-kind-of-open-take/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Your silence will not protect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/your-silence-will-not-protect-you/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I can't really define it in sexual terms alone although our sexuality is so energizing why not enjoy it too?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-can-t-really-define-it-in-sexual-terms-alone-although-our-sexuality/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“For once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-once-we-begin-to-feel-deeply-all-the-aspects-of-our-lives-we/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [the fear of death is that you are dying too soon. Nobody wants to, but at the point that you die you can pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fear-of-death-is-that-you-are-dying-too-soon-nobody-wants-to-but/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“There is an important difference between openness and naïveté. Not everyone has good intentions nor means me well. I remind myself I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-is-an-important-difference-between-openness-and-na-vet-not/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/what-are-the-words-you-do-not-yet-have-what-do-you-need-to-say-what/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-only-dream-and-vision-it-is-the-skeleton-architecture/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I think that in America there are certain kinds of problems and in Russia there are certain kinds of problems, but basically, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-think-that-in-america-there-are-certain-kinds-of-problems-and-in/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Institutionalized rejection of differences is an absolute necessity in a profit economy which needs outsiders as surplus people. As members of such an economy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/institutionalized-rejection-of-differences-is-an-absolute-necessity/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-sharing-of-joy-whether-physical-emotional-psychic-or-intellectual/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I forgot what we were celebrating. Because we were always celebrating something, a new job, a new poem, a new love, a new dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-forgot-what-we-were-celebrating-because-we-were-always-celebrating/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [How a diamond comes into a knot of flame How a sound comes into a word, coloured By who pays what for speaking. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/how-a-diamond-comes-into-a-knot-of-flame-how-a-sound-comes-into-a/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/audre-lorde/#itemlist", "name": "17 Speak Quotes By Audre Lorde", "numberOfItems": 17, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So it is better to speak, remembering we were never meant to survive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/so-it-is-better-to-speak-remembering-we-were-never-meant-to-survive/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bc/audre-lorde-758_inspirational_so-it-is-better-to-speak-remembering-we_2841815.jpg", "contentUrl": 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Ouija board, cryptic complaints from the other side", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-realize-that-if-i-wait-until-i-am-no-longer-afraid-to-act-write/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f59/audre-lorde-758_boards_i-realize-that-if-i-wait-until-i-am-no-l_2041837.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f59/audre-lorde-758_boards_i-realize-that-if-i-wait-until-i-am-no-l_2041837.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f59/audre-lorde-758_boards_i-realize-that-if-i-wait-until-i-am-no-l_2041837.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I realize that if I wait until I am no longer afraid to act, write, speak, be, I'll be sending messages on a…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I speak of the erotic, then I speak of it as an assertion of the life force of women; of that creative energy empowered, the knowledge and use of which we are now reclaiming in our language, our history, our dancing, our loving, our work, our lives.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/when-i-speak-of-the-erotic-then-i-speak-of-it-as-an-assertion-of-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/audre-lorde-758_assertion_when-i-speak-of-the-erotic-then-i-speak_410542.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/audre-lorde-758_assertion_when-i-speak-of-the-erotic-then-i-speak_410542.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/audre-lorde-758_assertion_when-i-speak-of-the-erotic-then-i-speak_410542.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I speak of the erotic, then I speak of it as an assertion of the life force of women; of that creative…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For those of us who write, it is necessary to scrutinize not only the truth of what we speak, but the truth of that language by which we speak it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-those-of-us-who-write-it-is-necessary-to-scrutinize-not-only-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/audre-lorde-758_language_for-those-of-us-who-write-it-is-necessar_869164.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/audre-lorde-758_language_for-those-of-us-who-write-it-is-necessar_869164.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/audre-lorde-758_language_for-those-of-us-who-write-it-is-necessar_869164.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For those of us who write, it is necessary to scrutinize not only the truth of what we speak, but the truth…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We've been taught that silence would save us, but it won't.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-write-for-those-women-who-do-not-speak-for-those-who-do-not-have-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/audre-lorde-758_fear_i-write-for-those-women-who-do-not-speak_852066.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/audre-lorde-758_fear_i-write-for-those-women-who-do-not-speak_852066.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74f/audre-lorde-758_fear_i-write-for-those-women-who-do-not-speak_852066.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have a duty to speak the truth as I see it and share not just my triumphs, not just the things that felt good, but the pain, the intense, often unmitigated pain. It is important to share how I know survival is survival and not just a walk throught the rain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-have-a-duty-to-speak-the-truth-as-i-see-it-and-share-not-just-my/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/audre-lorde-758_duty_i-have-a-duty-to-speak-the-truth-as-i-se_381275.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/audre-lorde-758_duty_i-have-a-duty-to-speak-the-truth-as-i-se_381275.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a14/audre-lorde-758_duty_i-have-a-duty-to-speak-the-truth-as-i-se_381275.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have a duty to speak the truth as I see it and share not just my triumphs, not just the things that felt…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We tend to think of the erotic as an easy, tantalizing sexual arousal. I speak of the erotic as the deepest life force, a force which moves us toward living in a fundamental way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/we-tend-to-think-of-the-erotic-as-an-easy-tantalizing-sexual-arousal/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/audre-lorde-758_arousal_we-tend-to-think-of-the-erotic-as-an-eas_2260960.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/audre-lorde-758_arousal_we-tend-to-think-of-the-erotic-as-an-eas_2260960.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51b/audre-lorde-758_arousal_we-tend-to-think-of-the-erotic-as-an-eas_2260960.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We tend to think of the erotic as an easy, tantalizing sexual arousal. I speak of the erotic as the deepest…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fact-that-we-are-here-and-that-i-speak-these-words-is-an-attempt/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/501/audre-lorde-758_break_the-fact-that-we-are-here-and-that-i-spe_1429148.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/501/audre-lorde-758_break_the-fact-that-we-are-here-and-that-i-spe_1429148.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/501/audre-lorde-758_break_the-fact-that-we-are-here-and-that-i-spe_1429148.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The fact that we are here and that I speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I hear the deepest truths I speak coming out of my mouth sounding like my mother's, even remembering how I fought against her, I have to reassess both our relationship as well as the sources of my knowing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/when-i-hear-the-deepest-truths-i-speak-coming-out-of-my-mouth/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/audre-lorde-758_coming-out_when-i-hear-the-deepest-truths-i-speak-c_260756.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/audre-lorde-758_coming-out_when-i-hear-the-deepest-truths-i-speak-c_260756.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/audre-lorde-758_coming-out_when-i-hear-the-deepest-truths-i-speak-c_260756.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I hear the deepest truths I speak coming out of my mouth sounding like my mother's, even remembering…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you come as softly As wind within the trees You may hear what I hear See what sorrow sees. If you come as lightly As threading dew I will take you gladly Nor ask more of you. You may sit beside me Silent as a breath Only those who stay dead Shall remember death. And if you come I will be silent Nor speak harsh words to you. I will not ask you why, now. Or how, or what you do. We shall sit here, softly Beneath two different years And the rich earth between us Shall drink our tears.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/if-you-come-as-softly-as-wind-within-the-trees-you-may-hear-what-i/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/audre-lorde-758_death_if-you-come-as-softly-as-wind-within-the_1104853.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/audre-lorde-758_death_if-you-come-as-softly-as-wind-within-the_1104853.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/audre-lorde-758_death_if-you-come-as-softly-as-wind-within-the_1104853.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you come as softly As wind within the trees You may hear what I hear See what sorrow sees. If you come as…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I had ever made to speak those truths for which I am still seeking, I had made contact with other women while we examined the words to fit a world in which we all believed, bridging our differences.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/my-silences-had-not-protected-me-your-silence-will-not-protect-you/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/audre-lorde-758_contact_my-silences-had-not-protected-me-your-si_1679623.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/audre-lorde-758_contact_my-silences-had-not-protected-me-your-si_1679623.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/audre-lorde-758_contact_my-silences-had-not-protected-me-your-si_1679623.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. 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(225)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/tell-them-about-how-you-re-never-really-a-whole-person-if-you-remain/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/audre-lorde-758_hotter_tell-them-about-how-you-re-never-really_2900625.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/audre-lorde-758_hotter_tell-them-about-how-you-re-never-really_2900625.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/audre-lorde-758_hotter_tell-them-about-how-you-re-never-really_2900625.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tell them about how you’re never really a whole person if you remain silent, because there’s always that one…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And when the sun rises we are afraid it might not remain when the sun sets we are afraid it might not rise in the morning when our stomachs are full we are afraid of indigestion when our stomachs are empty we are afraid we may never eat again when we are loved we are afraid love will vanish when we are alone we are afraid love will never return and when we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard nor welcomed but when we are silent we are still afraid So it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/and-when-the-sun-rises-we-are-afraid-it-might-not-remain-when-the-sun/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/audre-lorde-758_empty_and-when-the-sun-rises-we-are-afraid-it_1076138.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/audre-lorde-758_empty_and-when-the-sun-rises-we-are-afraid-it_1076138.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/audre-lorde-758_empty_and-when-the-sun-rises-we-are-afraid-it_1076138.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And when the sun rises we are afraid it might not remain when the sun sets we are afraid it might not rise…” — Audre Lorde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/when-we-speak-we-are-afraid-our-words-will-not-be-heard-or-welcomed/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/audre-lorde-758_heard_when-we-speak-we-are-afraid-our-words-wi_336891.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/audre-lorde-758_heard_when-we-speak-we-are-afraid-our-words-wi_336891.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/audre-lorde-758_heard_when-we-speak-we-are-afraid-our-words-wi_336891.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. 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