Shards Of Silence

I learned to smile with a storm in my chest,

To say “I’m okay” when I’m barely holding my breath.

They love the light when it’s easy to see,

But turn away from the shadows living underneath.

I became an expert at hiding the cracks,

Carrying pieces of myself on my back.

Not because I’m fearless, not because I’m strong,

I just learned who stays when something goes wrong.

They want the version of me that never falls apart,

The one who laughs on cue and never shows the scars.

So I bury every scream where nobody knows,

A garden of pain where nothing grows.

I swallow the glass, I swallow the fire,

Every broken piece of every old desire.

It cuts going down, but I’ve learned somehow,

Silence hurts less than letting it out.

I’m not brave, I’m just tired of watching people run,

When they see the battle I’ve been fighting alone.

If you hear my heart, don’t turn away,

I’m more than the pieces I couldn’t save.

I’ve held my tears like secrets in my hands,

Pretended I don’t need anyone to understand.

I’ve loved with a heart that was already bruised,

Given away pieces I could never replace or reuse.

I know how to disappear in a crowded room,

How to laugh while I’m drowning under the moon.

And maybe that’s the hardest truth I know,

Sometimes the deepest wounds never show.

But what if I don’t have to be made of stone?

What if I’m allowed to need someone?

What if the cracks aren’t proof that I’m weak?

What if they’re the places where the light can reach?

I don’t want to swallow the glass anymore,

Don’t want to bleed just to keep a door.

I’m done pretending I don’t feel the pain,

Done letting silence whisper my name.

I’m not broken beyond repair,

I’m just someone who needed someone there.

And if I fall, let me fall in the truth,

I’m still alive beneath all these wounds.

Not because I’m brave…

Because I survived.

And maybe the pieces I tried to hide

Were proof that I was still alive.