They see my dimming embers

Nobody sees me hopelessly pawing at the ashes of who I once was

They see my empty stares

Nobody notices the red tears that have forever scarred my cheeks

They see my freshly cooked arms

Not hearing the profanity I screamed at myself as I singed my flesh

They see my crumbs and leaks

Nobody knows the violent contortions of my withering essence

They see me drowning

Nobody acknowledges my cries as I fight to keep my head above water

They see me jump off the deep end

But nobody knows the depths of my tortured, charred, shallow loneliness