Please, do not gaze
Upon the stories carved in my skin
Each line, a silent echo
Of torment etched within.

Please, do not pry
Into the vault of memories I bear,
For truth, when stripped of mercy,
Is but a dream that vanishes in air.

Please, do not weep
When I smile and claim I'm whole,
As I swallow quiet doses
To still the storms inside my soul.

Please, do not tremble
When my heavy eyes begin to close
Sleep does not cradle me
It only deepens what sorrow sows.

Please, do not attempt
To map the silence I contain,
For the feelings once ablaze in me
Have frozen into pain.

So I beg of you
Do not question this quiet affliction.
I am not broken beyond repair,
Just adrift in a lonely fiction.