How could they know?

Silent tears
Happy faces
No hope

How could they know?

A shattered soul
held together
with duct tape

Searching
the caverns
for signs
of life

Only to find
nothing

How could they know?

No control
No air
Lifeless

Standing
on a cliff
screaming
for answers

Nothing

How could they know?

Shush
Family matter
Secrets

Silenced
A life cut in half
Hands tied

How could they know?

The body knows
Illness
Disease
Rage
Regret
Living a half-life

You can’t hold it back
It was bound to happen
It’s about time

Compliance
I haven’t lost a part of me
I killed it
I slammed the doors  
bolted them shut
and walked away

How could they know?

She knew
She didn’t understand
She couldn’t understand

I can’t hold it back
It’s coming
It’s about time
It’s my time

Doors unlocked
Chains off
Time for the soul to heal

Climb that mountain
the view from the top
is beautiful
It will set you free


Amberley Charlotte ©2022
Photo: Aris Tsitiridis

It’s what you don’t say

There’s a shift in your mood
but no one notices

There’s pain in your heart
but no one notices

You’re
sinking
drowning
gasping for air
but no one notices

You wear
a beautiful smile
toss a joke
into the conversation
show love
support
and compassion

You need a life jacket
but no one notices

To them
you haven’t changed

You don’t
recognize yourself
anymore
and no one notices

It’s what you don’t say
that hurts the most

It’s what you don’t say
that needs to be said

What you don’t say
speaks louder
than words


Amberley Charlotte ©2022
Photo: Tammy Gann