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You called it friendship.
But it wasn’t friendship, was it?
Not when you held my heart in your hands,
a fragile, trembling thing—
and you squeezed,
just enough to feel it crack,
just enough to keep me begging for air.

Every glance was an anchor.
Every word, a trap.
You weren’t careless—
you were calculated.
You gave just enough to keep me alive,
just enough to make me believe
that maybe I could matter to someone.
But not to you.
Never to you.

You wanted the devotion,
but not the responsibility.
The love,
but not the weight of it.
You pulled the strings,
watched me twist,
and when I shattered,
you stood back,
arms crossed,
and blamed me for breaking.

Because I was never the destination.
I was just another trophy for your shelf,
another fragile soul to notch on your belt.
You smiled like you’d won,
like breaking me was your masterpiece,
while I drowned in the weight
of never being enough for you.

You flirted like it was a game,
like hearts were trophies
you could collect and discard.
But when the cracks in your mask showed,
when the truth of your manipulation
became too hard to hide,
you turned on me.
You called me needy.
You called me too much.
You made me question my sanity
for believing the lies you whispered
like the truth.

And God, how you made me want you.
Like a starving man chasing crumbs,
I followed,
grateful for the scraps
that fell from your careless hands.
I swallowed your indifference like poison,
and called it love.

I wasn’t your victim,
not in your mind.
No, you made me your villain—
a desperate fool who wanted too much,
when all you were offering
was the hollow shell of companionship.
But you didn’t just offer friendship.
You dangled love in front of me
like a prize I could earn
if only I tried hard enough.

And when I reached out,
when I dared to hope,
you recoiled—
not out of surprise,
but out of calculated cruelty.
As if the problem wasn’t your lies,
but my belief in them.

You manipulated my heart
like it was an instrument
you could play to your tune.
You twisted my feelings,
turned my trust into a weapon
and aimed it straight at me.
And when I fell,
you didn’t even look back.
You just walked away,
leaving me to choke
on the blame you shoved down my throat.

You made me feel
like I was never enough—
not for you,
not for anyone.
You left me staring at my own reflection,
wondering what was so broken in me
that I could never be loved.
You turned my kindness into a flaw,
my vulnerability into a weakness,
and my love into something shameful.

And the cruelest part?
You knew.
You knew exactly what you were doing.
You dangled yourself
just close enough to taste,
but never enough to hold.
You made me feel like a child
chasing shadows—
a game I couldn’t win.

And I—
I was the fool who stayed,
who waited,
who let your breadcrumbs lead me
to this jagged edge.

And now, here I am,
clinging to the ledge of who I used to be,
on the edge where you left me,
the wind ripping through my chest,
the rocks below calling my name.
Because for a moment,
just one agonizing moment,
it feels easier to fall—
to let go, to end the ache you left behind—
than to keep living
in a world where you exist,
untouched by the wreckage you caused.

Because you left me with nothing—
not even myself.

But here’s the truth you’ll probably never face:
You were the broken one.
You used people to fill the void inside you,
and when they got too close,
you shoved them into the fire
and called it their fault for burning.
You built a life
on the ashes of the hearts you destroyed,
and you smiled like you won.

But one day,
the mirrors will crack.
The lies will catch up to you.
And when you’re standing alone,
wondering why no one stays,
you’ll remember me.
Not as the fool who loved you,
but as the one who climbed back onto the cliff,
not because I wasn’t enough,
but because I was too much for your hollow hands to hold.

And you’ll finally understand:
You didn’t win.
You never did.
You only thought you did
because I let you.

you didn’t destroy me.
The only thing you destroyed
was the illusion
that you were ever worth it.

And even if I’m still bleeding,
even if my hands are torn raw
from clawing my way back
to the ledge you let me fall from,
I’ll heal.
I’ll rebuild.
I’ll become something
you’ll never understand—
whole, without you.
~an attempt to put into words what a friend endured. I wrote this because no one should endure the kind of pain I saw rip through someone I care about.
Sara Barrett Jan 2
You’re considered too wild, they say
a storm that never stops raining,
a flame that burns without end.

You were more to their liking, however.
when your voice was barely a breath,
a shadow pressed against the wall.

They considered your silence graceful.
By hollowing you out—
Confusing stillness with softness,
Your passion for destruction.

Being too much is impossible, isn’t it?
It’s only just begun for them.
Entering your depths slowly.

The reason is that you are the sea.
Deep, rising, and endless.

Allow them to drown.
"Too Much" is a declaration of self-empowerment, a response to those who attempt to silence or diminish the fullness of one's being. Using the imagery of storms, flames, and the sea, the poem explores the tension between being misunderstood and reclaiming one's truth. It is a call to embrace one's passions, depth, and wildness, despite the discomfort it may cause others. The poem speaks to the power of owning one's space in the world and the freedom that comes from shedding the expectations of those who fail to see beyond the surface.
Lizzie Bevis Nov 2024
If I could reach beyond the veil
Where hidden misery and memories sail,
I'd dip my fingers into your fears
Rippling light through your toughest years.
Down into the chambers of your soul,
Through the spaces bruised and whole,
I'd pour the warmth of countless suns
Until each ill thought breaks and runs.

In your eyes, I see the pain,
Heavy like endless pouring rain.
I see the hurt that time can't mend,
The way your kind soul was forced to bend.
But, when I look at who you are,
Beyond the wounds and all your scars,
I see a light that burns so true
And a brave survivor inside of you.

©️Lizzie Bevis
Kaiden Lewis Nov 2024
She was a child but
"what was she wearing?"

"men have their needs"

"your body my choice"

"You asked for it"

"you made that up"

"i bet it wasnt even that bad"


Yet you complain when you get a cold
The painful reality of SA survivors
Kaiden Lewis Nov 2024
The mentall ilness was never an excuse

The abuse was never discipline

The yelling was never making us stronger

The boys never hit us because they liked us

The victims were never attention-seekers

We were never who we seemed to be
Nothing is ever as it seems
Mahta Nov 2024
At first
My abuser dresses like a prince on a white horse
Speaks like a true gentleman
And keeps tabs on all my fears and discomforts
'cause he "cares"

Than
He smiles for the camera while twisting my arm under the table
He means "well"
He convinces me that my pale and expressionless face is more beautiful than ever

In the end
For a good while I confuse my weakened heartbeat and the numbness running through my veins for the "calmness"

But than
In the pitch black of the reality
I see a diminishing flame flickering inside me
In its light
My dreary reflection reassembles a way out
Bekah Halle Sep 2024
when you pause
and ponder,
it's utterly extraordinary
that you are
alive;
out of the billions
you survived,
you are far
from ordinary,
what will propel
you to thrive?
Debra Lea Ryan Aug 2024
I was Knocked  out cold in ICU
For 20 Hours apparently
Of that I have NO memories
However when I started to come to
I heard  the Ding Ding Ding of  a particular sound
The sound of a Heart Monitor  in the background
And  I felt as if I was  travelling on a slow train
On a Course of gentle ups and downs
Turns out I was on a fancy Hospital Air Bed
That was starting to deflate under my weight
For I  had blown up like a Michelin Man Balloon
You know Elephant size in a small room
Most importantly the main thought streaming my Head
Was that I had actually returned from Death
I really had something  I needed to say
And asked for Pen and Paper straight away
In this crazy moment
Without Glasses  on I could not clearly see
What was right in front of me
I had an idea what would  occur
Beyond the  Blur
The mission overwhelmingly clear
To document  a flurry of words
That were erupting in my mind
Let's just say it soon became a frantic mess and time drew close to digress from all my witnessed scribble dribble
To be heard with a  revelation of my so-called life changing  words
It was chaotic with Family, Doctors and Nurses  gathering around
I even called out to the Wardie too
As I sat upright in bed and said
I have something important to tell you
Firstly I shouted out that I needed a  swear jar
You know something to toss a coin in, maybe quite a few
Then I felt in overdrive when I  exclaimed there's nothing there
There's nothing F'Ning there
Off the top of my Head
No F'Ning Afterlife  I meant
The Lights go out and there is no one Home Kind of Zone
I didn't get much of a chance to  Banter on
Before a  Nurse  kindly Shhhhhhhh'd me
And suggested later when we were alone she would
explain all I needed to know
Being so disturbed I was quickly made to  realize that Doctors had saved my life  when they knocked me out medically
So apologetically I cried out to everyone in the room that
I didn't do a Led Zeppelin - Pink Floyd - see the Dark Side of the Moon
For I  sincerely hoped in the moment I had not stumbled anyone's  world view - beliefs and values
I had just been on some kind of trip
Versed in Metaphors and Analogy
Induced by something pretty strong to  remembering specific Songs
The upshot is  I actually  do care that I have not been there
And I am Grateful that I 've  had the opportunity
To  resolve a Mystery!

(c) Debra Lea Ryan
10-July-2024
& Feb 21st - 23rd, 2021
☀♥ƸӜƷ✿♬
This piece I guess needs more work.  I just really wanted to write  in this Moment (well I flowed and worked the words over a few Days) .  This experience was Hell on Earth at the Time.   The Healing Humor kicked in for me  eventually.  Maybe I need to write a song called ICU Blues -  Bed Pans and Tubes!
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