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We wear our egos like armor, A shield against the truth we might break. Whispers of “stay safe”, “stay out of sight”, “Don’t feel — but if you do, don’t feel too much.” We live for very little. Intensity is scary. We forget we have a heart that needs to feel alive. We reach, but pull back. For every human thing we try to do, we are afraid. We are attached to pieces of our past that broke us, And being vulnerable feels like a sin. We disclose so little to the people we meet, Not wanting to be judged. We build versions of ourselves for strangers to meet. Only if you’re lucky do you meet the real us Soft, simple, unlike the complicated mask we carry. We bury it so deep, so careful, We forget we’re human too, messy. To be alive is not to keep, but to lose a piece of ourselves, And trust the other person won’t use it against us. And in that moment, something in our minds remembers What it means to be heard, to feel, to be seen for who we are, not who we’re supposed to be. Even when ego screams hold The heart screams stay
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May 14
May 14, 2026 at 4:09 PM UTC
Hold vs Stay
We wear our egos like armor, A shield against the truth we might break. Whispers of “stay safe”, “stay out of sight”, “Don’t feel — but if you do, don’t feel too much.” We live for very little. Intensity is scary. We forget we have a heart that needs to feel alive. We reach, but pull back. For every human thing we try to do, we are afraid. We are attached to pieces of our past that broke us, And being vulnerable feels like a sin. We disclose so little to the people we meet, Not wanting to be judged. We build versions of ourselves for strangers to meet. Only if you’re lucky do you meet the real us Soft, simple, unlike the complicated mask we carry. We bury it so deep, so careful, We forget we’re human too, messy. To be alive is not to keep, but to lose a piece of ourselves, And trust the other person won’t use it against us. And in that moment, something in our minds remembers What it means to be heard, to feel, to be seen for who we are, not who we’re supposed to be. Even when ego screams hold The heart screams stay
namansa-james-joel
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May 14
May 14, 2026 at 4:09 PM UTC
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