A lonely man goes about his days,
living one at a time—
remembering just enough,
and forgetting everything else.
He smiles once in a while,
usually at milestones achieved,
small victories earned through exhaustion
rather than joy.
Burdened not by society’s expectations,
but by standards far harsher—his own.
Demands he placed upon himself
long before the world ever could.
Fighting quietly,
mostly alone.
Keeping relationships at a distance,
protecting that fragile, precious heart
as if it were something breakable beyond repair.
Locked away inside a safe—
a safe whose combination
he no longer remembers.