To the world, I am whole,
a quiet river flowing steady and sure.
But beneath the surface,
there is a storm—a name whispered in the dark,
a fire that only I can feel.

I hold it close, this hidden love,
like a secret carved into stone,
sharp and silent,
forever unseen.

You don’t know the weight of my gaze,
how it lingers just long enough
to memorize the curve of your smile.
You don’t hear the words I’ve swallowed,
each one tied to a hope
I dare not set free.

Unrequited, they call it,
as though love could ever be one-sided,
when it fills every corner of me.
But you remain untouched,
a distant star,
and I, earthbound,
left only with the glow of your light.

So I walk among the world,
a keeper of something precious,
a love too tender for words,
too fragile for air,
too real for you to ever know.