But I Did Not Speak

I listened to her lament
The things she had said,
For she had spoken out
With great authority,
Pretending to know
Far more than she did.
She was embarrassed
To have so recklessly
Broadcast her ignorance
And demonstrated her naivete.
I smiled as I thought
Of all the times
I had done the same,
But for every time
I played the fool,
There may have been
A thousand more
When I held back,
And failed to speak my mind,
Or tell anyone
What I was thinking.
In looking back,
It was the times
I didn’t speak
That cost me more
Than the times I did.