STRONGEST WALLS...WEAKEST HEARTS

When voices turn into weapons,

when the silent night becomes a battleground,

I clutch my sibling closer with trembling hands,

as if I could be their strongest wall.

The voices tear pieces out of me,

yet I never let go of my little one—

hoping they never become like me,

hoping they never mistake love for a toxic trait.

But the echoes linger in my ears,

taunting, mocking, laughing at me.

They leave bruises no one can see,

shadows where the light should be.

And still,

I stitch a smile across my face,

bright enough to hide the wreckage—

so the world only sees a sister protecting,

never the child who is breaking.

(FOR ALL THOSE WHO GREW UP STRONG A LITTLE TOO FAST AND PROTECT THE LITTLE HEARTS AT COST OF THEIRS...WHOSE HEARTS BEAR WHAT EYES CAN'T SEE.)

                   -REBELLIOUS SOUL.