The Wall(Two Sides)

I told myself I wouldn’t feel again, not after the last time. I promised I’d stay guarded, after giving too much, too fast. But then he came, and looked at me like I mattered. Then she appeared, and smiled like she saw the man I tried to hide. I let the walls crack, just a little hoping maybe this time was different. I opened the door, not wide, but enough to let the light in. I ignored the silences, explained away the distance. I silenced my doubts, told myself, love just takes time. But one night, he left. Quiet. Cold. Like I was never enough. She drifted away, not loudly, but like she was already gone before she said goodbye. I cried for every part of me that believed I could be loved, fully. I blamed the softness in me, the parts no one ever asked to understand. So I built the wall again. Brick by brick. Because safety felt better than breaking. I laid down stone after stone. Because silence hurts less than the echo of not being chosen. This wall, not tall, not perfect, but all we know when love forgets to stay. Maybe one day, someone will see past it. Maybe one day, we’ll let them in. But for now, we rest behind the wall, still healing, still hoping, still whole, even in the quiet.