Through every storm, you stood so tall,
With empty hands, you gave your all.
You worked, you fought, you bore the pain,
Yet never once let hope be slain.

For me, you’ve lived, for me, you’ve tried,
Silent tears you’ve always hide.
To me, you’re strength, to me, you’re light,
My guiding star through darkest night.

One day I’ll rise, just wait and see,
Your dream will live forever in me.

He wasn’t always this way—
or maybe I just didn’t see it,
too young to name the weight
pressing against the walls of our home.

Back then, he was just “Baba,”
a voice in the background,
sometimes laughing,
sometimes silent for days.

But as I grew,
so did the silence—
thicker, colder, sharper.

He left for work,
and in those days of distance,
I found peace.
Space to breathe.
Space to become.

Then he'd return—
and so would the tension.
The words unspoken
screamed louder than any argument.

His ego walked ahead of him,
tall, loud, always right.
My thoughts, my voice—
they bent around him,
folding like paper birds
never allowed to fly.

And still, I tried.
Tried to understand.
Tried to not hate.
Tried to be the daughter
he could see without judgment in his eyes.

But love shouldn't feel
like walking on glass.
And respect shouldn’t mean
shrinking into silence.

Now, I live in halves—
half in freedom, when he’s gone,
half in chains, when he’s here.
Not a child anymore,
but still hurting like one.

And yet,
I rise quietly each day,
holding my own hand,
writing poems in the dark—
because if he won’t see me,
I’ll make sure I see myself.

He said he loved me.
Back then, I didn’t know what love felt like—
I thought it was just something people said.
So I smiled, maybe even teased,
And told him 'no'.

Years later, he came back.
Same boy, same love,
And I still couldn’t feel it.
I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t there.
So again, I let him go.

But life has this cruel way of teaching.
One day, out of nowhere,
I felt it.
Everything he once did.
Every unsaid word, every silent hope.
And I told him.
God, I told him.
But he had already moved on.
And I—
I was just a page he’d already turned.

Now, after all this time,
I still feel him.
In the quiet.
In the places I wish he was.
But I know I can’t stay here.
So I’m choosing to let go.
Not because I want to,
But because I have to.

Don’t stay because you feel you must,
Love can’t be built on guilt or dust.
Stay only if your heart beats true,
If every breath still aches for “you.”

I want your smile, not just your face,
Your laughter warm, your soft embrace.
But if your joy begins to fade,
Don’t let our love become a cage.

I’d rather kiss you one last time,
Than hold you bound by silent crime.
So stay, my love, if love is why
Not just to soothe a saddened sigh.