I stopped arguing
the million words i prepared
disappeared on the tip of my tongue
stumbling back to my stomach
like pebbles i had swallowed

I stopped crying
holding back tears held a power.
as if sadness isn't real
as long as i didn't cry.

I stopped caring
the reward didn't outweight the cons.
as if im not in pain
as long as im indifferent

There is a distance between us
growing and rotting away our bodies
we mask so much to stay okay
as if those aren't lies told from within.