Ten One, And One

Tired alerts again today Buzzing through a hundred ways Names I’ve never seen before Lives I never asked to know Messages, texts, a blinking mail Feeds I scroll without a trail They all just pass Like nothing touched Not even one stays Everything comes too easily A message, a call, a lie to me They don’t know me, still they try I answer strangers wondering why Seen, deleted—never mind It means nothing What I click, what I choose The ads, the news The praise, the views It means nothing Who I love, who I block They scroll, they stop I speak, they mock It means nothing No reply means the same Hearts don’t weigh When every touch fades It means nothing Too much to feel Too much to trust Too late to care Truth bends like glass Shatters at a single glance They say what’s real But nothing stays Not even facts, only playback haze I try to move But nothing moves back I see what sees me But only if I tap I blink and the world blinks too But no one's really looking through There’s a name that follows me But no one's ever there A ghost that likes my every thought But never breathes the air It means nothing What you post, what you know It means nothing What you love, what you show It means nothing Every face just fades And I’ve stopped asking Why

The light stayed still on the floor As if the day forgot to leave. I sat inside the fold between What ended and what never came. No shadow stretched, no voice replied. Even silence knew not to breathe. I whispered where you used to be And nothing answered, but I stayed. I called it quiet, But it was always you. Looping softly, Where my breath forgets to fall. You return where the clock won’t move, Like a song that never stopped repeating. I’m not waiting, I just remain In the part of time that kept your name. I carry hours without direction, Like petals falling out of step. The glass still holds your reflection Longer than I ever could. You return where the clock won’t move, Between goodbye and almost said. If I could leave, I might forget But here, remembering keeps you near. I called it quiet, But it was always you. Looping softly, Where my breath forgets to fall. You return where the clock won’t move, Between goodbye and almost said. If I could leave, I might forget But here, remembering keeps you near.

I hear it again But it’s not calling me Just another sound That used to mean something There was a name I used to say it Now it’s just noise Folded into silence I try to feel But it’s just air Words that echo Even when I’m not there Sound that stays But never speaks It plays again But doesn’t reach It meant something I’m sure it did But now it’s just What I can’t forget A voice I knew Now broken tones It hums at night But never goes Maybe I’m made Of sounds I didn’t choose Maybe I remember What was never true Sound that stays But never speaks It plays again Inside of me I don’t believe it But it won’t leave Just one more sound That used to be me A voice I knew Now broken tones It hums at night But never goes Just one more sound That used to be me A voice I knew Now broken tones It hums at night Inside of me I don’t believe it But it won’t leave Just one more sound That used to be me

No alarm, but I still wake Sunlight hits a wall that doesn’t care No inbox, no morning rush Just me and the dust in the air They run with purpose in their shoes I scroll through job ads I won’t choose I whisper, “This is peace”, alone But I keep glancing at my phone I wake up when I want to I’ve got nowhere to be This silence feels like freedom At least, that’s what I believe The world moves on without me And maybe that’s just fine I laugh a little louder Like I’ve never missed a sign I meet some friends and fake a grin Say, “Finally resting. Isn’t it nice?” They nod and smile and don’t ask more So I don’t have to lie twice I tell myself, “I pressed pause” Like this was something that I chose But still I flinch at morning bells Like they forgot I don’t belong I wake up when I want to I’ve got nowhere to be This silence feels like freedom At least, that’s what I believe The world moves on without me And maybe that’s just fine I laugh a little louder Like I’ve never missed a sign Like I’ve never missed a sign I’ve got time... But nothing to do with it