This is evident through the symbolism of the ears at the end of the poem. Once he crudely tells the speaker that he won't help his people at all, the speaker tells us that "some ears on the ground caught that fragment of his voice." Some ears on the ground were pressed against the ground. Ears are divided into two different types: those that hear the colonel and those that do not. It is said that all ears are on the ground because they represent the people in the worst living conditions, who live below everyone else. Each of these types also represents a part of the population in difficulty when a problem arises. Part of the population hears what is happening and reacts to the problem, while the rest of the population turns away and ignores the problem. Additionally, it's obvious that the speaker wants us to talk because she does it herself. The poem begins with "what you have heard is true" because the speaker wants her audience to know that the rumor that arises from her story is true. The poem then details what happened, and the speaker wants us to be disgusted by what happened so that we will act to help her. The speaker wants us to be the ears that hear her. The poem is a call to action for all Salvadorans during this time.