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Nalani Breeze May 24
In a room full of people, I often feel like a ghost. Conversations swirl around me, vibrant and alive, yet I remain on the periphery, an observer to lives that seem effortlessly connected. There’s a hollowness in being overlooked, a quiet ache that settles in the spaces between words left unsaid.

I move through my days wearing a mask of normalcy, my thoughts a labyrinth that few care to navigate. Eyes glance past me, uninterested, unseeing. I wonder if they sense the depth beneath the surface, the complex landscape of my inner world. But no one asks, and I remain a solitary island in a sea of faces.

The longing to be seen, truly seen, is a silent plea I carry within. To have someone pause, look beyond the facade, and recognize the nuances that make me who I am. I crave that connection, the feeling of being known and understood, yet it remains elusive, a distant star in a vast, indifferent sky.

In the quiet moments, I wrestle with my invisibility, the weight of it pressing down. I yearn for the validation of a gaze that lingers, a voice that says, "I see you." But until then, I navigate the shadows, hoping that one day, someone will see through the veil and acknowledge the person hidden within.
Nalani Breeze May 24
In the quiet spaces between
moments,
I feel the weight of possibility.
Love, a distant shore,
glimmering with promise,
yet obscured by the fog of memory.

I stand on the edge,
toes curling over the precipice,
wondering if the leap
will lead to flight or fall.

In your eyes, I see a universe,
uncharted, vast, inviting.
But the heart is a fragile vessel,
bruised by the tempests of yesterday,
hesitant to set sail again.

I trace the lines of your face
with my gaze, cautious,
as if touching something sacred
might unravel the safety of solitude.

To love is to risk,
to open wounds long closed,
to invite joy and sorrow
into the sanctuary of the soul.

I am afraid,
not of you, but of myself,
of the unknown terrain
that love demands I traverse.

Yet there is a pull,
a quiet urging from within,
to step into the light,
to let go of the fear,
and trust the journey ahead.

— The End —