It was a defence mechanism
pretending I wasn't hurting
so you wouldn't see how much you broke me
but my eyes let me down
it was only a whisper but you heard it play in my eyes
the way they welled up and became stained by the little blood rivers we call vessels
your lips barely lifted to fake a smile
when you said "those blood rivers will dry up eventually"
context: by blood rivers I mean the blood vessels you can see in your eyes when your eyes go red from crying and or welling up.