Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

Our childhood mantra.

We have a saying from Guyana. As kids we were very in touch with the differences between physical violence and words.

The saying goes:

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!

When someone insulted us we would reply singing:

STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME.

At age of 10, when suddenly I moved to England. My voice has been a problem for the outside world. Europeans have had an issue, with my voice, with my tone, with the loudness, with the sharpness and cruelty of the words….and that’s fine, we come from different cultures, different energy grew us….what is a shame, is me changing myself to try and fit into that mold of sensitivity.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me,

it was like a mantra, words hurt in the civilised world…words are just words in my culture, they are there to express what’s inside, so that what’s inside doesn’t come out as violence.

We didn’t fear violence or physical harm, we knew it, we tasted it. We knew it’s nuances, the difference between loving pain, and hateful pain, we know it’s purposes, we knew it’s nature. We knew it as a medicine, and also as a poison. Pain was just another thing we experienced. Compared to pain, Words were to us HARMLESS. And always better than those feelings manifesting physically.

I re-claim this knowing:

STICKS ANS STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES, BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME!

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

P.s. If you have ever been hurt by my words, you have forgotten what true pain is. You ARE TOO SENSITIVE.

A.R.