I was the one who trembled,
a name pressed into the dirt,
breath caught in my throat
like a bird caged by shame.
I was the one who pressed you down,
my hands not fists,
but words honed to needles,
for I feared my own hollowness
would be revealed.
I felt your weight upon me,
every silence a verdict,
every glance a wound
that told me I was less.
I felt your fear within me,
and so I carved it into you,
believing control would make me whole,
yet finding only deeper fractures.
I wanted to vanish.
I wanted to grow roots
beyond your reach,
to stand unbroken in the sun.
I wanted to vanish.
I wanted my cruelty
to hide the trembling child within me,
the one begging not to be seen.
But the story does not end there.
The soil remembers both seeds,
one watered by hurt,
one reaching toward light.
From your shadow, I found myself.
From my shadow, I lost myself.
And somewhere between us,
pain turned into mercy,
and mercy into freedom.
~TrueMori
