Say this, don't say that.

Write this,­­ don't write that.

Swim with the crowd, lips sealed.

The thought police are out with swords.

If I can't think for myself,

Blindly chained to the ancient faith,

How do I walk in the digital age

Without oxygen in my head?

When I put pen to paper, I don't

Worry about who feels validated,

Vindicated, or flat out rejected

Lest my brisk Pilot grind to a halt.

The pen is mightier than the sword, as

The saying goes and every child knows.

So I dance to the tune my clear

Conscience dictates, come what may.

If nothing else, at the end of the day

I can rightly say without remorse or

Guilt, since I wasn't the cause of pain,

That was a life truly worth living.

The poet is a Professor of English at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA.