I’ve worn out my hands
On doors that never open
Every handle burns cold
Every lock swallows my name
They tell me I shine
Then remind me that
Someone else burns brighter
A compliment sharpened to a knife
I bleed quietly every time
Permanent jobs
Impermanent peace
Contracts like paper skin
Splitting under the weight
Of another “unfortunately”
I built years out of scraps
Temporary walls
Temporary wages
Every room I enter collapses and I’m buried
In exit dates stamped deeper than veins
I am a landfill of “maybe”
A graveyard of short-term hopes
Stacked so high it crushes my lungs
I don’t breathe anymore
I pant
I claw
I tape my ribs together
Like they’re about to split
I’m told I am enough
But never chosen
And the difference is the sound of glass
Breaking in my chest
Over and over
Until there’s nothing left to shatter
I'm tired
God, I am so tired
And still I show up
Threadbare and shaking
Begging another stranger
To tell me I matter