Whispers in my thoughts, echoes of unrest,
a maze of doubts, secrets in my chest.
Just a junior in high school, the battle begins,
invisible enemies, webbed bodies beneath my skin.
How difficult, from leaps of confusion, from devastation, to hold,
constantly with shadows I fought, at sixteen I had too much to be told.
In the darkness, I felt misunderstood, the pull.
Sometimes, when the world becomes too heavy, I feel the burden to bear,
With silence, I find comfort, for a moment in despair.
A quiet request for release is engraved on the skin,
a desire for peace from the tales within.
Do you recall when I wanted to fade away, to release,
To just be stored away, to be left to cease?
I’ve fallen to the edge’s side, yet somehow found the ability.
I am more than the few lines burrowed in my skin,
I am a survivor; I will not be pushed with hostility.
Every day, I gather the courage to stand,
to write the plot, to take back my hand.
True, I fall; I falter, but I refuse to suppress,
For I am more than myself in the silence,
I’ll paint my canvas, and crown myself, no less.
I’m a seventeen-year-old girl, finding resilience.