Fractures no one Sees.

The Quiet Disguise of I am Okay.

I move with the crowd,
matching their rhythm,
mirror their smiles,
blend into the ordinary,
but beneath this forced practiced normalcy,
there is a storm that never learned to rest...

I wear a suit of "I’m fine." I put it on every morning. It fits okay, except where the seams rip at the shoulders, where the memories are heaviest...

The scars meant to shield me
have not grown enough yet,
their fragile threads are too short
to cover what still aches beneath...

I walk into the crowd, and I blend in. I laugh when they laugh. I keep pace. I make them believe I am solid...

Deep within the wreckage,
there is a stubborn, flickering hope…

A dream
impossible, perhaps,
of a day when the pain will soften,
when the wounds will close without fear of reopening,
when peace is not borrowed,
but handed to me...

I dream of an impossible dawn, a clean slate, a heart that doesn't shudder when the wind changes...
I dream of being free, not just surviving, but waking up without the ache...

Healing
is not a sudden miracle, but a quiet defiance
of continuing anyway...
Carl Nicolas.