You don't see me

I smile through the screen, bright as the sun, But when the phone goes dark, I come undone. They think the laugh means I'm doing fine, But pain doesn’t always come with a sign. They say, “You’re always angry, why so cold?” But don’t see the battles my silence holds. I'm trying to breathe in a world too loud, Wearing a smile, just to make them proud. They tell me, “You're not like your sister was.” But why compare what you don't understand? She had her path, I walk through mine, Both carry weight, just in different lines. I don’t always speak, I don't always share, But that doesn’t mean I don’t need care. Some wounds sit quiet, beneath the skin, Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they’re not within. Depression isn't laziness, or some chosen mood, It’s not just a phase, or being "rude." It’s dragging myself from shadows each day, And hoping my soul doesn’t drift away. So don’t judge my quiet or call me unkind, Please, stop reading pain with someone else's mind. Ask how I’m doing, mean what you say— Sometimes, that question can carry the day.