I learned to be quiet
not because I had nothing to say
but because every time I spoke
my feelings felt like a burden in the room
So I swallowed them
like pills that never healed anything
People think sadness cries loud
but mine was polite
it waited
it let others go first
it smiled
it said “it’s okay”
even when it wasn’t
I think the worst kind of pain
is the one that keeps you functioning
You still wake up
still answer
still show up
still breathe
But inside
everything already fell apart
I have memories that don’t feel like memories
they feel like bruises
you don’t see
but flinch when touched
Sometimes I miss old versions of myself
like they died
and nobody came to the funeral
There was a me that laughed easier
trusted quicker
slept without overthinking
loved without fear
I don’t know where that person went
Maybe life slowly erased them
like waves taking names off sand
The nights are the hardest
when the world gets quiet
and there’s nothing to distract me
from the ache of being here
Not wanting to disappear
just wanting the hurt
to loosen its grip
for one night
Just one night
where my chest doesn’t feel heavy
for no clear reason
I got good at pretending
it’s a talent nobody claps for
I know how to smile
with tired eyes
how to joke
with a breaking voice
how to say “I’m fine”
like it’s the truth
But sometimes
I wish someone would look at me
and say
“You don’t have to be strong right now.”
Because being strong
all the time
is the loneliest thing
I’ve ever done
And maybe that’s the saddest part
Not the tears
not the pain
But how quietly
I carried it
so nobody else had to.
Jan 29
Jan 29, 2026 at 9:57 AM UTC
I learned to be quiet
not because I had nothing to say
but because every time I spoke
my feelings felt like a burden in the room
So I swallowed them
like pills that never healed anything
People think sadness cries loud
but mine was polite
it waited
it let others go first
it smiled
it said “it’s okay”
even when it wasn’t
I think the worst kind of pain
is the one that keeps you functioning
You still wake up
still answer
still show up
still breathe
But inside
everything already fell apart
I have memories that don’t feel like memories
they feel like bruises
you don’t see
but flinch when touched
Sometimes I miss old versions of myself
like they died
and nobody came to the funeral
There was a me that laughed easier
trusted quicker
slept without overthinking
loved without fear
I don’t know where that person went
Maybe life slowly erased them
like waves taking names off sand
The nights are the hardest
when the world gets quiet
and there’s nothing to distract me
from the ache of being here
Not wanting to disappear
just wanting the hurt
to loosen its grip
for one night
Just one night
where my chest doesn’t feel heavy
for no clear reason
I got good at pretending
it’s a talent nobody claps for
I know how to smile
with tired eyes
how to joke
with a breaking voice
how to say “I’m fine”
like it’s the truth
But sometimes
I wish someone would look at me
and say
“You don’t have to be strong right now.”
Because being strong
all the time
is the loneliest thing
I’ve ever done
And maybe that’s the saddest part
Not the tears
not the pain
But how quietly
I carried it
so nobody else had to.
