To sin by silence, when we should protest, / Makes cowards out of men.
-- Speaker (Lines 1 – 2)

Importance: These are the opening lines of the poem. Immediately, the speaker develops a critical tone as she condemns those who remain silent about injustice. She raises the stakes of their silence by calling it a sin, introducing a biblical element to the poem and creating a moral framework around the concept of protest.

Had no voice been raised / Against injustice, ignorance, and lust, / The inquisition yet would serve the law, / And guillotines decide our least disputes
-- Speaker (Lines 3 – 6)

Importance: Here, the speaker provides her readers with a historical precedent for the efficacy of protest. She refers to the Spanish Inquisition and the Guillotine as archaic forms of policing and punishment that were eradicated thanks to protestation from citizens. This progress, she suggests, can still be carried on in contemporary America.

Speech, thank God, / No vested power in this great day...
-- Speaker (Lines 8 – 10)