I keep the rain
behind my eyes
a storm with no thunder
only the quiet ache
of clouds too heavy to leave
my breath learns
the shape of silence
holding each crack together
like fragile glass
afraid of becoming light
the tears wait
patient as tides
pressing gently
against the shoreline
asking for nothing
but a moment to exist
instead
I swallow oceans
wear steady hands
and answer the world
with a voice
that almost doesn’t fade

still
somewhere beneath it all
the river remembers its name
and one day
it will find its way home