RED

And here I am Staring at strangers bathed in golden light, Laughter spilling from their lips like a melody, Carefree, weightless— A world untouched by the heaviness I carry. Yet here I remain, Drowning in unseen currents, Submerged in waters thick with expectation, My breath stolen by the weight of whispers, The silent demand to be more, to be enough. Emotionally unanchored, Mentally frayed, I long to vanish— Not in a spectacle, not in a storm, Just a quiet fade into the ether. But even that is not mine to claim. They call it hope— This tether they wrap around me, Not to lift, but to bind, A force that does not save, Only tightens, only suffocates. And now, my body crumbles, Worn and weary, My heart, a hollow shell, My mind, an echo chamber of static. They reach for me— Hands outstretched, voices kind, But even kindness feels like a burden. I retreat, a shadow slipping into the dark, Unwilling to be another weight upon their shoulders. They do not know. They must not know. This storm is mine to bear alone. So I drown, not in sorrow, but in wine, A bitter tide surging from my palm, A river deep and crimson, Until the moment they find me— And only then, will they understand, That I have already