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Latoya Legall Jun 27
I miss someone
I’ve never touched.

There is an ache in me
for a love that hasn’t come,
but still feels close,
like a whisper behind a wall
I can’t tear down.

I dream of gentle words,
of someone who sees me
before I speak
who doesn’t flinch at the weight I carry,
or the silence I keep.

But the truth is,
I’m afraid.

Afraid that when they finally arrive,
they’ll only pretend to stay.
That they’ll trace my scars,
only to learn my softness
and walk away.

Because I’ve seen love
in the wrong hands
how it bruises without meaning to,
how it promises forever
but folds under pressure.

So now I crave something pure
but hesitate to reach.
I want to be known,
but not undone.
Latoya Legall Jun 11
One day,
I’ll stand in front of the mirror
and won’t look away.

My eyes won’t dodge
the reflection
of a girl who’s lived through too much
but still stayed.

I’ll touch my skin
without flinching.
I’ll wear softness
without shame.
I’ll trace every scar
like a map
of where I didn’t break.

The weight of their hands
will no longer sit on my chest.
Their voices will fade
into silence.
And mine
mine will rise.

I’ll love myself
gently,
fiercely,
with all the compassion
they never gave me.

And the mirror?
It won’t be a punishment.
It will be a promise
that I came back to me.

Not the same.
Not untouched.
But alive.
And healing.
Latoya Legall Jun 11
If you ever wondered what I felt
when you said, “we’re not in sync”
know this:
my heart didn’t break quietly.
It shattered
in all the spaces
you once filled with hope.

You held me like maybe.
You spoke like someday.
You smiled like promise.
And then walked away.

Don’t dress it up.
It wasn’t fate,
or timing,
or stars out of line.
It was choice.
It was yours.
And it wasn’t mine.

But I won’t chase ghosts
in the ruins of “almost.”
I just hope one day,
you feel
the kind of ache
you left in me
and realize
it was love.
Latoya Legall May 12
They call it sadness
as if it’s gentle.
As if it doesn’t claw its way
through ribs at 3AM,
leaving bite marks on your will to live.

I smiled yesterday
the kind of smile
you give when you’re drowning
and no one sees the water.
I said “I’m fine”
because breaking down takes too much energy.

I carry silence like a second skin,
peeling pieces of myself
just to feel something.
Even the mirror flinches now.

Some nights I pray,
not for peace,
but for emptiness
because even pain
is too heavy to hold forever.

But I’m still here.
Barely breathing,
brutally honest,
and that has to count
for something.
Latoya Legall May 12
There were days I sank without a sound
No screams, no tears, just empty ground
A battle raged inside of me
A silent ache no one could see

I wore a smile, laced with pain
Each step felt lost inside the rain
I begged the night to let me go
But woke again, too numb to know

Still, something small refused to die
A stubborn breath, a quiet sigh
And though I cracked, I didn’t break
I stood back up, for my own sake

The scars are there, but so am I
I faced the dark, I lived, I tried
I’m not the same, but I am here
A soul that stayed when none came near

— The End —