i carry wounds like fragile glass
smoothed edges but sharp in secret places,
ghostly seams from a lover who left me hollow.
and now there’s him.
this beautiful, distant man
holding me close yet never close enough.
his hands warm but never knowing
where i truly hurt. i want to peel back my skin,
show him where the bones are brittle
press his hand to the bruises that linger
to reveal the hurt without flinching.
but he is quiet- my silent healer
and i am tired of whispering, “see me!”
into shadows, he will never chase.
so i lie still, half-known and half-hoping.
a broken thing too weary to break again
wondering if love is just the art of pretending -
we are whole.
“almost whole” tells the story of the pain of healing after a brutal and emotionally abusive relationship. the poet is now with someone new. this beautiful, warm man. but she still feels this aching emptiness inside of her. it’s like she's standing right next to him yet he doesn’t see the scars she hides or the hurt that lingers beneath her skin. she craves for a deeper connection. a real understanding of her brokenness. she's dead scared to peel back those layers but does he even wants to know what happened to her? it’s exhausting to feel so alone even when he’s right there. she wants to let him in, to share her truth, but the fear of being rejected for who she really is holds her back.
it’s a constant battle between hope and sorrow, longing to be seen while feeling trapped in her own shadows.
