I'm not hard to read.
You just keep looking
for softness
in places I've already
set on fire.

I'm not soft,
but I'm not cold.
I'm made of edges
that know when to hold.

I laugh loud,
love louder,
and walk like I own
the ground I was told
not to stand on.

No one teaches you how to grieve the life you thought you'd have.
How to carry versions of yourself that never made it.

How to smile with cracked teeth
or love with a heart that flinches.

They don't teach you that bravery
is sometimes just making it to next week.
That healing isn't pretty-
it's messy, loud, and sometimes lonely.

But you learn.
You learn to sit with the silence.
To keep living like maybe
the best part hasn't happened yet.

I am not always okay-
but I'm always trying.

Some days,
the weight is quiet.
Other days,
it screams through my bones
and I still show up.

I've learned to be the calm
when nothing else is.
To hold my own hand
when no one else reaches for it.

I do not need to be loud
to be strong.
I do not need to be seen
to be real.

And if I am only
a soft kind of brave-
that's still brave enough.

It told me
the faster you run,
the more you miss.

That growing up
isn't something you notice-
until you can't go back.

It said
you will lose people
who loved you deepley,
and still feel like it was your fault.

And letting go?
It's not peace at first.
Sometimes it feels like
betrayal
with a ribbon it.

I asked,
how do I know I'm doing it right?

Time exhaled.
And said,
"Because it hurts less
than holding on did."

It told me
you can survive anything
if you're quiet about it.

That healing
looks a lot like pretending-
until it doesn't.

It said
love won't save you
if you keep offering it
as proof
you're worth saving.

And forgiveness?
It's not always holy.
Sometimes it's
just surrender
in a prettier dress.

I asked,
when do I become enough?

The mirror blinked.
And said,
"When you stop asking."

Smirk to the left side of my face,
                                                            Smir­k to the right side of my face.
                                        Now, it's symmetrical.
                      Grin some more.
                            You thought pain breaks me, no.
                                                      You thought that would **** me, nah.
                                             It only makes me stronger.

Laughing my *** off for your assuming talent. Believe me I tried, but when I heard it, it sounded out quite hilarious.

Harder =)
Better ;)
Faster :)
Stronger • • •